Forever and All Eternity I: Fate
by Bratling
Summary: What if the New Kryptonians didn't show up until much later?
1. The BeginningTesting

Forever and All Eternity I: Fate  
by Laura Davies brightfeather1.geo@yahoo.com  
Rated: PG-13  
Submitted: November 2002  
  
Disclaimer: These characters do not belong to me. I'm just  
playing with them for a while. G Any resemblance to any  
other work of fiction is strictly coincidental.  
  
Authors note: This is a re-write of the New Krypton arc, so  
my thanks goes out to the writers of the original New  
Krypton Arc. I also need to thank all of the beta readers  
who assisted in this project: Erin, Tricia, Helen, Avia,  
Breanna, Doug, Wanda, Jenni, Mary, and Missy as well as all  
of the readers on Zoom's message boards. I also need to  
thank the regulars on #lanekent and #loisclark... Without  
ya'll this story would have never been begun, let alone  
finished. This is Book I, so I'm afraid you'll have to  
read Book II to continue the saga. All Feedback welcome.  
  
****  
  
Clark woke to the sound of his small son sobbing. Beside  
him, Lois stirred slightly, beginning to wake up. "I'll  
get him, honey," he said softly, "go back to sleep." Clark  
climbed out of bed and hurried into the child's room.  
"Joseph, sweetie, what's the matter?" He asked as he picked  
his son up out of the crib.  
  
"Mon'ter, Daddy!" the little boy sobbed.  
  
"Shhh," Clark said soothingly, "Daddy's here." He patted  
Joseph on the back. Slowly the boy's sobs subsided as he  
fell asleep in his father's warm encircling arms. Clark  
gently laid his son down in the crib.  
  
Just as he began to leave, Joseph's eyes opened. "No go,  
Daddy," he demanded. "Daddy 'tay wiv Jo'eph."  
  
Clark sighed a bit as he regarded his two-year-old. He  
scooped up the child and headed back to the master bedroom.  
He knew that the experts advised against having children  
sleep with their parents, but he was simply too tired after  
yesterday's hurricane in Hawaii to deal with this right  
now. He supposed that he could get Lois, but at four and a  
half months pregnant, she needed the sleep more than he  
did. He laid the child down on the bed and slid under the  
covers, making sure to cover his son up with a blanket.  
  
"Tank you, Daddy," Joseph said sleepily as his thumb found  
its way to his mouth and slipped off into dreamland.  
  
Clark smiled as he softly kissed Joseph on the top of his  
head and closed his eyes. He was glad Kiley hadn't been  
woken up by Joseph's sobs; at four she was likely to  
protest and wake her mother. He glanced through the wall  
to check on her; just in case. She was sleeping  
peacefully, almost the spitting image of her mother at the  
same age. Clark closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep;  
all was right with the world.  
  
****  
  
Lois cracked open her eyes as the alarm sounded. She  
sleepily reached out a hand and smacked the button; turning  
off the alarm. Her other hand flopped over the other side  
of the bed; searching for Clark. As her hand encountered  
empty air rather than her husband's solid form, she  
frowned; it had been a long time since she had woken up  
alone. Carefully, she used her arms to lever herself up in  
bed, only then noticing the form of her small son curled up  
beside her. She smiled tenderly as she smoothed back the  
rumpled crown of fine dark hair that covered the small  
head. Lois dropped a soft kiss on her baby's head; he was  
the spitting image of Clark at the same age, but he had  
more of her personality. She gently picked the child up and  
held him in her lap. "Wake up, sweetheart," she said  
softly.  
  
Joseph opened one sleepy chocolate brown eye and grinned.  
"Hi Mommy," he said as he threw his little arms around her  
for a hug. Joseph kissed Lois's tummy, "Hi baby!" He  
looked around the room. "Where Daddy Kiley?" he asked.  
Without waiting for an answer, he slid off of Lois's lap  
and announced, "I find Daddy Kiley." Joseph made a beeline  
for the door and ran straight toward his sister's room.  
"Kiley," his little voice called, "wake up!" Joseph  
barreled into the room and looked around for his big  
sister. A wide, happy grin spread over his little face.  
"Daddy!" Joseph yelled as he ran forward and wrapped  
himself around Clark's leg.  
  
Clark gave the ponytail holder one more twist to secure the  
end of Kiley's braid before gently disengaging Joseph's  
arms from around his leg and scooping up his son for a good  
morning hug. "Lois?" he called softly, "Are you awake?"  
  
Lois, who had followed Joseph, albeit a little slower,  
walked into the room. Kiley bounced up to her and  
exclaimed, "Mommy, Daddy braided my hair!" Lois looked at  
her daughter and chuckled.  
  
"Sweetie, he only got half done," she said with a smile,  
noting her daughter's hair. Clark had parted it down the  
middle and begun to braid it in twin pigtails, but he had  
only succeeded in finishing one braid before Joseph had  
interrupted. "Kiley, I'll finish fixing your hair." Lois  
sat down on Kiley's bed and picked up the brush. "Come here  
please," Lois said. Kiley came over and stood where Lois  
could reach her long dark brown curls.  
  
As Lois began to brush and braid their daughter's hair,  
Clark walked over and planted a loving kiss on her lips.  
"I'll get Joseph dressed and make breakfast," he said with  
a heart-melting smile. Lois nodded, dropped a kiss on the  
top of Kiley's head. Kiley jumped up and down excitedly,  
"I want Emily to see my braids. Are we going to the park  
today Mommy? I want to play in the sandbox and swing on  
the swings with Emily. We're going to climb trees and play  
princesses in the tower."  
  
"Of course we are punkin'," Lois said as her daughter  
hugged her enthusiastically. Lois reached the end of the  
braid and twisted a ponytail holder around it to hold the  
hair in place. "There you go Kiley," Lois said with a  
smile. "I'll meet you downstairs ok?"  
  
"Okay, Mommy!" Kiley exclaimed and bounced out of the room.  
Lois smiled as she watched Kiley's enthusiasm. If anyone  
had told her ten years ago what she'd be doing now, she  
would have insisted on finding them a straightjacket. Lois  
went into the master bedroom and began hunting for some  
clothes that still fit. It was a chilly late September day  
outside, so she settled on one of Clark's old flannel  
shirts and a pair of maternity jeans. Lois slipped on socks  
and shoes and headed downstairs toward the sound of dishes  
clattering in the kitchen. Kiley and Joseph were sitting at  
the table, slightly sticky with the syrup from the pancakes  
that Clark had fixed them. She walked over to Clark, put  
her arms around his waist, and lifted her face for a kiss.  
  
His face had brightened when she entered the room; he  
smiled down at her softly before brushing his lips across  
hers in a gentle caress. "Morning sweetheart," he said,  
joy lighting up his features. His hand caressed her gravid  
belly as he leaned down and whispered, "Good morning, baby  
Kent." He ushered her over to the table, setting a plate  
full of pancakes in front of her. He grabbed Joseph right  
before the mischievous little boy grabbed his sister's  
braids with his syrup-covered hands and hauled him away to  
wash.  
  
A few minutes later, Lois led Kiley into the bathroom and  
supervised the removal of syrup from her hands, arms, and  
face. As Clark cleaned the kitchen, Lois got the kids into  
their coats. Soon they were on their way to the park.  
Lois and Clark sat together on a bench by the playground  
and watched their children play in the sandbox. It was a  
rare occasion that they got to spend the whole day together  
like this without interference from the outside world.  
When Lois had gotten pregnant with Kiley, Clark had cut  
back his Superman activities so he could be there for his  
child. Together they had decided that their family came  
first; the rest of the world could wait.  
  
****  
  
Lois and Clark walked past the cappuccino stand, where a  
man dressed in jeans and a leather jacket sat reading a  
paper, and through the Daily Planet lobby. They headed  
toward the Planet's daycare center and the elevator. Clark  
carried Joseph on one hip, occasionally tickling his ribs  
so that his small son would laugh and remove his thumb from  
his mouth. "So," Lois said smiling widely, "your mom has  
promised to baby-sit; what do you want to do for our  
Anniversary next week?" Clark leaned over and whispered  
something in her ear. Lois giggled and swatted him gently  
on the chest. "You're insatiable, Mr. Kent," she said with  
a broad smile. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him on  
the tip of his nose.  
  
Joseph chose that moment to hold out his arms to her. "Up  
Mommy," he said, wearing one of Clark's patented smiles.  
Lois took Joseph from Clark and kissed him on the cheek.  
"I love you Mommy," Joseph proclaimed as he threw his arms  
around her neck and kissed her. Lois smiled tenderly at  
her little boy as they resumed walking. Far too soon they  
were at the entrance of the Planet's daycare center.  
Joseph made his usual Monday morning protest at leaving his  
parents' side; he started screaming. "Want Mommy! Want  
Daddy!" he yelled over and over before beginning to whine.  
Clark glanced through the wall to make sure that Joseph was  
okay. Anne, one of the daycare employees, was holding him.  
Clark put his arm around Lois's waist as they walked over  
to the elevators. This was always the worst part of  
Mondays for them; they both hated to see their little ones  
cry, but they knew that Joseph would settle down soon  
enough.  
  
****  
  
Sarah walked into the elevator, double-checking the armload  
of files as she did so. Satisfied that she held the  
correct files for Lois's and Clark's story on the proposed  
Hobbs Bay Revitalization Project, she pressed the button to  
take her up to the newsroom. Sarah grimaced to herself; if  
she were to claim what was rightfully hers, a long battle  
lay ahead. She hadn't worked at the Planet for very long,  
but being near and not able to touch him was exquisite  
torture. She considered herself lucky to belong to such a  
handsome man; even though he still remained ignorant of the  
fact.  
  
The elevator dinged and she walked out, searching for the  
husband and wife duo. Finally she saw them in front of  
her. Her guts twisted in envy as she watched Clark Kent  
turn his wife's hand over and drop a soft kiss in the  
center of it. She carefully schooled her face to not  
reveal this emotion and walked briskly toward them. She  
walked quietly up to Clark and glanced at him shyly through  
her long eyelashes before turning to Lois. "Here's the  
research you wanted on the Hobbs Bay Revitalization  
Project," she said quietly.  
  
"Really?" Lois questioned, "that was fast, I only asked for  
it yesterday!"  
  
"I, uh, stayed late," Sarah answered.  
  
"For that, you deserve a donut," Clark said, one of his  
patented 100 mega-watt smiles gracing his face.  
  
Sarah looked up at Clark refusal evident in her face. It  
only took a few seconds of looking at his brilliant smile  
before she answered, "well... um, okay," changing her mind.  
  
Clark reached over and snatched a donut from Jimmy's nearly  
empty box as he passed by. Just as Clark was about to hand  
the donut over to Sarah, Jimmy spoke up. "Not the banana  
cream! The Chief'll kill me!" he exclaimed. Clark dropped  
the donut back in the box and licked his sticky fingers as  
Jimmy looked at Sarah and froze. She's beautiful, he  
thought, looking her up and down. "Here," he said, "take  
mine." Jimmy pulled another donut out of the box and handed  
it to Sarah.  
  
"*Jimmy*," came the bellow from Perry who was on the other  
side of the newsroom.  
  
"Coming Chief," Jimmy said with a sigh. He turned to Lois,  
Clark, and Sarah and said, "I've gotta fly!" and ran off  
in the direction of Perry's office.  
Lois watched Jimmy disappear with an indulgent smile on her  
face. He'd come a long way from the gopher and copy boy  
that he used to be. After all, Jimmy was now an award-  
winning photographer and was shaping up to be a darn good  
reporter. His relationship with Perry had also changed  
somewhat. His errand-running days were mostly behind him;  
but, he still occasionally ran a few errands for the Chief.  
He was still a sucker for a pretty face; however, since  
Lucy had moved back to Metropolis he had taken to haunting  
her doorstep. Lois was waiting for their engagement to be  
announced at any time now. Jimmy had been a surrogate  
uncle to Kiley and Joseph and the way things were working  
out between him and Lucy, soon his relationship with them  
would be official. She really wouldn't mind having Jimmy  
for a brother-in-law, she reflected. He had been like a  
younger brother to her and Clark for quite some time now  
anyway. Lois smiled as she began to pull herself back to  
reality. She reached out and took Clark's hand in her own  
before focusing on what Sarah was saying.  
  
Sarah took a deep breath, trying to come up with the  
courage to speak to the incredibly handsome man in front of  
her. "Um, I know I'm sort of new here," she began, "I  
mean, not that new, I have been here for a month, but... do  
you two ever take story ideas from somebody else?"  
  
Lois smiled at the nervous girl encouragingly. From her  
demeanor, it was obvious that she was nervous about  
something; Lois chalked it up to being scared about her  
boldness in suggesting such a thing. "If it's a good idea,"  
Lois answered.  
  
"Well, I was thinking; there's always so much bad news,"  
Sarah began, "what if you did a series on people who make  
personal sacrifices for the good of society? Like  
astronauts..."  
  
"Or medical missionaries..." Clark chimed in.  
  
"Or Superman?" Lois said.  
  
"Exactly!" Sarah exclaimed. "What drives him... or people  
like him?"  
  
Clark looked as if he were going to reply to this remark.  
However, before he got the chance to open his mouth, Perry  
rushed out of his office. "Turn up those things *now*!"  
Perry yelled. Ray, the newest copy boy, ran over to the  
televisions and hurriedly turned up the volume. "The  
broadcast about the dedication of the brand new underwater  
research center, the Athena," Perry reminded as the entire  
newsroom turned towards the monitors. "It's not only the  
first of its kind, it's the first such research center to  
allow the scientists to bring their children with them."  
  
As the news anchor on the screen up in the newsroom droned  
on about the Athena's technological advances, the families,  
and the scientists aboard her, the man sitting at the  
cappuccino stand pulled a small black device out of the  
pocket of his leather jacket. The device itself wasn't  
much to look at, but its design somehow conveyed menace and  
fear. The man fiddled with it for a few moments as he  
listened to the announcer's voice on a nearby radio. As  
the researchers began to use the opportunity to say hello  
to the world, the man pushed a small, circular button on  
the device. He smiled; convinced it would work.  
  
****  
  
The propellers on the underwater research center Athena  
came suddenly to life, forcing the once stable research  
center into motion toward the Mariana Trench. Inside the  
research station, the scientists and their families fell to  
the deck, unprepared for the sudden movement of their  
temporary home. Each one found something to hold on to and  
prayed to survive the experience.  
  
****  
  
In the newsroom of the Daily Planet, the staff watched in  
horror as the Athena moved inexorably in a course toward  
the deepest pit on Earth. The anchor on LNN had just  
announced the problem when Clark quietly excused himself,  
saying that he would contact his sources in the Navy, and  
left in the direction of the stairwell, loosening his tie  
as he ran. Perry began to order his reporters to get  
information for the story; desperately trying to insure  
that the Planet would not be scooped. Sarah watched Clark  
go, a small smile adorning her face, before turning to face  
the monitors to watch the drama unfold.  
  
Clark flew up the stairwell of the Daily Planet while  
spinning into the supersuit. At superspeed, he dived for  
the Athena, grabbed it, and began to pull backwards. Every  
muscle in his powerful body strained as he struggled to  
prevent the Athena's disastrous dive into the Mariana  
Trench. For what seemed like an eternity, Superman was  
losing his battle with gravity. Every molecule of his  
being struggled to stop the disastrous descent of the  
research center. The lives of the scientists and their  
families were at stake, for the Athena simply didn't have  
the hull strength to stop the tremendous pressure of the  
Earth's internal gravity from crushing them to death.  
  
Slowly, ever so slowly, the research station began to  
respond. At first its response was infinitesimal. It  
crept out of its seemingly unintentional course and, with  
Superman's help, began to regain its former position.  
Finally the Athena's propellers cut off, letting the  
research station resume its position anchored to the ocean  
floor. The people aboard released their death grip on the  
makeshift handles inside the submerged facility and  
gingerly made their way to the nearest porthole. They  
waved their thanks to the drenched superhero and resumed  
their work.  
  
Superman waved at them before flying tiredly back up to the  
surface. He flew toward Metropolis, flexing his aching  
muscles as he gratefully let the warm sun play over them.  
The sun had done its job of partially re-energizing his  
exhausted body before he reached the roof of the Daily  
Planet. Summoning one last ounce of speed, he spun himself  
dry and into his 'Clark clothes'; his movements too fast  
for the human eye to see and walked slowly down the stairs.  
He dragged himself into the newsroom, his face screwed up  
in a puzzled expression. "Did I miss anything?" Clark  
asked Lois doing his best to seem ignorant of the Superman  
rescue that had just occurred for the benefit of anyone who  
happened to be watching.  
  
Lois stood up when Clark entered the room, joy lighting up  
her face; he had saved the oceanographers and come back to  
her undamaged. Her eyes caught his, wordlessly telling him  
how proud she was of him and of her relief that he was  
unscathed. She wanted to kiss him right there to assure  
herself that despite the recent adventure, he really was  
still with her. "Superman saved the research station," she  
replied instead, knowing that kissing him senseless in the  
newsroom when a big story was breaking might not be a good  
idea.  
  
Jimmy looked at Clark, the awe he felt from what Superman  
had done still evident on his face. "Man, he was like a  
fly on the windshield except this time the fly stopped the  
car! Look at the pictures on LNN! I mean, his handprints  
are on the body of the Athena! Whammo!" Jimmy gaped at the  
handprints that were still visible on LNN's broadcast. He  
was astonished that one man could fight gravity over such a  
heavy object and still manage to return victorious.  
Perry stood up, walked over to Lois and Clark, and started  
issuing commands. "Lois, Clark, I want everything we've  
got on this story pronto. I want to know why a multi-  
billion dollar research center tried to re-enact the  
sinking of the Krusk." Perry turned to look at Sarah and  
Jimmy. Sarah was standing nearby, simply staring at Clark  
as Jimmy continued to watch the television screens. "Hey,  
what is this, a rock garden?" Perry asked as he clapped his  
hands together twice. Jimmy muttered something about having  
to load some film and hurried off. Sarah, however, stayed  
a little bit longer. She looked at Clark longingly before  
bidding him goodbye and going off to her corner where  
unfinished work stood in slightly unsteady piles.  
  
Perry winked at his favorite reporting team and strode off  
to his office, whistling as he went. Now that no eyes  
seemed to be trained in his direction; Clark slumped  
forward, catching himself on Lois's desk.  
  
"Are you okay?" Lois asked quietly while surreptitiously  
checking Clark for hidden damage. Intellectually, she knew  
he couldn't be hurt. However, when he took care of an  
incident of that magnitude, her head and her heart often  
didn't agree.  
  
Clark rotated a shoulder and stretched out his cramping  
back muscles before replying. "That was the toughest thing  
I've ever done," he said softly, "I almost didn't stop it."  
  
Lois reached over and gently brushed away the lock of hair  
that was forever falling forward onto his forehead. "But  
you did," she said softly, "And that's the important thing.  
So... Star Labs?"  
  
Clark pushed himself off of her desk. "Absolutely," he  
said, "And we can check on Joseph on the way." Lois and  
Clark turned around to leave. To their great surprise,  
they ran smack into Sarah.  
  
Sarah glanced up at Clark from under long, silken lashes.  
"Hi. I just wanted to, um, say that if you need any  
research for your story, let me know." Sarah shot one more  
wistful glance at Clark before hurrying back to her corner.  
  
As Sarah began to busily rearrange her piles of waiting  
work, Lois turned to look at Clark and slipped her hand in  
his. "I think someone has a bit of a crush on someone,"  
she said teasingly as they walked toward the elevator.  
  
"But I'm a married man," Clark said with a small smile  
tugging at the corners of his mouth.  
  
"All the more tempting," Lois said as she playfully butted  
him with her hip.  
  
"Someone else isn't jealous are they?" Clark looked at Lois  
with a mischievous glint in his eyes.  
  
"Not in the least," Lois said as Clark pressed the elevator  
call button. "Because," she said huskily, "You are  
irrevocably *mine*." The elevator arrived just as she  
finished that statement. Lois and Clark stepped inside.  
As Clark reached over to press the call button, Lois  
slipped her arms around his neck and pulled his head  
closer. She captured his lips in a passionate kiss. After  
a few moments, they pulled apart, breathing heavily.  
  
"Staking your claim, Ms. Lane?" Clark asked teasingly.  
  
"You better believe it, flyboy," Lois answered with a happy  
smile as she leaned forward and kissed him again.  
  
Lois slipped her hand into Clark's as the elevator  
continued in its downward path. Together, they walked out  
of the elevator on the ground floor and over to the  
Planet's daycare facility. Clark smiled as he remembered  
Lois's fight to get the facility in operation when her  
pregnancy with Kiley had been discovered. It had been  
operating for almost five years now, and the Planet  
employees who had children were thankful that it was. The  
facility had a picture window near its entrance that  
allowed parents to check on their children.  
  
Lois and Clark crept slowly up to the window and peeked in.  
Joseph was playing happily with the trucks that lay  
scattered around him. Clark smiled as he watched his son  
scoot a truck around the floor, making 'vroom, vroom'  
sounds in lieu of engine noise. Lois leaned over and  
kissed Clark on the cheek gently. "He's fine," she said,  
"let's get over to Star Labs" As Clark nodded his  
agreement, they slipped away from the window and headed to  
the parking garage to retrieve the Jeep.  
  
****  
  
As Dr. Klein began to explain the specifics of the  
malfunction aboard the Athena, Lois took the opportunity to  
look around the lab. It wasn't often that the two of them  
came to Star Labs; after her first pregnancy, there simply  
hadn't been much of a reason for it. When she had gotten  
pregnant with Kiley, the first order of business had been  
to inform Dr. Klein. After all, he was the closest there  
was to an expert on Kryptonian physiology, and their  
children were the first ever Kryptonian-human hybrids.  
  
They had been uncertain of any problems that might arise.  
As a result of this, Dr. Klein was one of the few people  
who knew that Superman was, in all actuality, Clark Kent.  
Looking at the lab bench in front of her, the first thing  
she noticed was a laser beam device that split one beam  
into two. She refocused her attention on what Dr. Klein  
had to say; ruthlessly yanking her recalcitrant thoughts  
away from the fascinating sight in front of her.  
  
"Seconds before the main propellers initiated," Dr. Klein  
began, "the research station received a very brief, tight  
beam microwave transmission. It sent in a computer code  
that overrode the automatic controls and started the  
engines."  
  
"Do we know where the transmission came from?" Clark asked  
a bit urgently.  
  
Just as Lois was giving in to her insatiable curiosity  
about the experiment in front of her by reaching for the  
top of the plexi-glass box that enclosed it, her movement  
caught Dr. Klein's eye. "Don't touch that!" He said  
urgently.  
  
Lois's hand jerked back suddenly. "Sorry," she muttered,  
the redness of a blush spreading quickly over her face.  
"What is it?" She asked finally.  
  
"I'm measuring the electron flow along the plasma wake as  
the laser passes through different gasses." Dr. Klein  
said, staring at the laser device meditatively. Suddenly,  
he snapped his fingers. "Plasma wake. That's it!" He  
exclaimed before hurrying over to the computer and typing  
madly.  
  
"Dr. Klein?" Lois looked at the scientist in puzzlement,  
what could he be up to?  
  
Dr. Klein didn't answer, his attention was entirely taken  
up by his computer. Lois glanced over at Clark, a question  
evident in her face. Clark grinned slowly. "Caution," he  
whispered, "mad scientist at work."  
  
Finally, Dr. Klein glanced up. "No matter how brief it  
was, the microwave beam must have left a trail of agitated  
molecules along its path."  
  
"I'd say something was agitated." Lois quipped.  
  
Dr. Klein plowed on, oblivious to Lois's comment.  
"Agitation means heat. Therefore, by using the infrared  
detectors on some low orbiting satellites, we should be  
able to identify and backtrack down the column of heated  
molecules to its source. Ha ha gotcha!"  
  
Lois and Clark walked around Dr. Klein to look at the  
computer screen; it was covered in sets of seemingly random  
numbers that streamed past at an alarming rate of speed.  
"I don't see anything," Clark said.  
  
"I'm switching to the NIA spy satellite. We'll get real-  
time photos now that I have a lock on the molecules." Dr.  
Klein explained.  
  
"A spy satellite?" Lois asked, a skeptical look on her  
face. "You can do that?"  
  
"The name is Klein, Bernard Klein," Dr. Klein said in an  
appalling imitation of Sean Connery. He smiled suavely and  
waited for recognition. Lois and Clark exchanged blank  
looks as Dr. Klein deflated. "You know, James Bond?"  
  
"Oh yeah," Clark said. He hadn't really recognized Dr.  
Klein's reference. After all, he reflected, he was more a  
fan of the Lethal Weapon movies than of 007.  
  
"We were just teasing," Lois said comfortingly, "it really  
was very good." Privately, she thought otherwise, but in  
the nine years that Clark had been her partner, some of his  
tact had rubbed off.  
  
Dr. Klein smiled happily and resumed working with the  
computer. Within minutes, the numbers running across the  
computer screen had been replaced with a very high altitude  
shot of North America. The picture began to slowly zoom  
in, first showing a suburb, then a neighborhood, then a  
house, and finally a satellite dish in the backyard. The  
picture froze on the satellite dish and coordinates popped  
up on the screen along with an address.  
  
"Twenty-seven forty-two Creel Drive, Metropolis." Clark  
read out loud.  
  
"Of course," Lois grumbled, "where else would it be? Every  
villain in the known universe seems to operate out of  
Metropolis! For once I wish we could have a villain in  
Maui. Or Aspen. Or Monte Carlo."  
  
"How accurate is this?" Clark asked.  
  
"Plus or minus five feet," Dr. Klein answered.  
  
"I'd say that's close enough. Thanks." Clark said before  
he and Lois rushed out to follow this interesting  
development.  
  
****  
  
Clark parked the Jeep in front of a split-level house in  
the suburbs of Metropolis. He got out of the car, walked  
around to the other side and helped Lois out of the car.  
"Are you okay, honey?" He asked. Clark planted a gentle  
kiss on her forehead.  
  
"I'm fine, Clark," Lois said, "My back hurts a bit, but you  
can give me one of your special massages later."  
  
Clark nodded his agreement and put his arm around his wife  
as they walked up to the door of the house. Lois began to  
knock on the door, hoping that someone would answer her  
summons. Clark couldn't help but notice the Century 22  
'For Sale' sign on the front lawn behind the white picket  
fence. He doubted that anyone lived there to answer the  
door, but he knew that, to be on the safe side, knocking  
was necessary. As Lois continued to knock, he seized the  
opportunity to look around.  
  
Recently, they had been discussing the possibility of  
looking for a new house to accommodate the needs of their  
growing family. The brownstone on Hyperion Avenue had  
been a wonderful home, but, with their third child on the  
way, and the fact that they had decided upon a large  
family, they were fast outgrowing it.  
  
Clark could imagine their children playing in the front  
yard... swinging on the tire swing that he would place in  
the large tree there. He surveyed the house, using his x-  
ray vision to peek inside. He liked what he saw. "Nice  
yard," Clark commented.  
  
Lois gave the yard a cursory glance. "Yeah, it's cute,"  
she said.  
  
Clark could tell that she wasn't really thinking about the  
house-her mind was almost completely focused on the story.  
He pressed on anyway. "Nice fence. Good driveway, too.  
Lois, can't you just see the kids here? They'd love it!"  
  
"I know. I like the lattice work around the porch," Lois  
answered distractedly.  
  
Clark looked at his wife; he was a bit surprised by her  
answer. After all, they'd had several disagreements over  
this very issue. They both knew they were beginning to  
need the extra space, but Lois wasn't too keen on moving  
out of their beloved brownstone on Hyperion Avenue. Lois  
stood on tiptoe and attempted to look into the house.  
  
"And I've always liked this style of house," Clark said.  
  
"Yeah, it's pretty great," Lois allowed.  
  
"It's definitely the kind of place I could go for," Clark  
admitted.  
  
"Me, too," Lois said, carelessly running a hand through her  
hair. She stepped back from the window and began to walk  
around the back of the house. "Let's go check around  
back." Lois grabbed his hand as they walked. It wasn't  
long before they came face-to-face with a large satellite  
dish that stood tall and proud in the backyard. Clark  
examined it minutely, searching for any sign that it had  
been used as the transmitter that had put the deep-sea  
research center in danger.  
  
"Okay, we know that this probably sent the signal, but  
where is the device the signal came from?" Clark asked.  
  
"Can I help you?" said a voice that came from behind Clark.  
  
Lois and Clark turned around to find a dark haired man  
dressed in khakis, a white shirt, a tie, and a Century 22  
Realty sports coat behind them. "Oh yes, we were just  
looking at the house. We were driving by and saw the sign,  
so we thought we'd stop. We've been looking into buying a  
bigger house anyway with this little one on the way." Lois  
patted her stomach. She had barely started to show, but  
the baby-bulge was noticeable enough to attract attention.  
  
The man smiled at the couple and held out his hand for  
Clark to shake. "Hi," he began, "I'm George Thomas.  
You've found a nice one."  
  
Lois looked the man over and took his measure. "Lois Lane.  
This is my husband, Clark Kent."  
  
"We knocked," Clark began, "but..."  
  
"I know, I heard. But I was in the restroom. Is this  
house something you'd be interested in?"  
  
Lois looked George over and decided to see if she could  
extract some information from him. "We love it," she said  
enthusiastically. "It's just what I've always dreamed of!  
And we love the neighborhood, but... we drove by here  
around nine this morning and thought we saw some..."  
"...strange people..." Clark chimed in. He recognized  
exactly what his wife was up to. Over the years, both of  
them had become adept at gathering information from the  
unwary. The more they had done it, the easier uncovering  
these windfalls had become.  
  
"...hanging around," Lois continued, "You didn't happen to  
notice any, did you?"  
  
"No," Mr. Thomas began, "I haven't seen anyone all morning  
except for my clients; they're an older couple in their  
sixties. This is, of course, one of the safest  
neighborhoods in Metropolis. If you like, I'll give you  
the name of the listing agent."  
  
"So you don't handle this house?" Clark asked.  
  
"No. I represent some buyers," Mr. Thomas said. "Betty  
Wilson is the agent for the sellers. She had another  
showing, so I said I'd close for her. We're old pals. But  
I'd be happy to show you some of my listings if you like."  
  
"Thanks, but we're really just starting," Lois replied.  
  
"I understand," he said. "Don't hesitate to call. At  
Century 22, we bring your future to you." Mr. Thomas  
smiled broadly. A few minutes later, as Lois and Clark  
were preparing to leave, a van marked with the emblem of  
Star Labs pulled up and equipment-laden people began to  
stream out. Lois and Clark thanked the real estate agent  
for his time and headed back to the Jeep.  
  
Clark glanced at his watch as he climbed into the Jeep. It  
was almost lunchtime and almost time to retrieve Kiley from  
preschool. Clark did some quick calculations in his head  
and realized that they had just enough time to pick up  
Kiley before heading back to the Planet. Kiley usually  
spent the afternoons playing with the other kids in the  
Planet's daycare facility until they were ready to go home.  
Since Kiley was born, they had cut back on their hours at  
the Planet considerably. Investigative reporting would  
never be a 9-5 job, but between the two of them, they were  
determined to make it work for their family.  
  
Clark knew that being able to keep the jobs they loved  
simply wouldn't be possible if Ellen, Lucy, and Jimmy  
hadn't made themselves available for the now rare occasions  
in which they had to go on stakeouts. Crime in Metropolis  
was down to a record low due to his Superman activities.  
It seemed as if the very threat of Superman made criminals  
think twice about trying anything. They still had an  
occasional twisted evil genius to fight, but in the past  
year, even those were becoming fewer and further between.  
  
Lois looked at her watch as she started the Jeep. She  
smiled as she drove the Jeep in the direction of Little  
Hands Preschool. Much had changed in the past few years.  
Many people, including herself, hadn't seen her as a mother  
type, but she had proved everyone wrong. Kiley was one of  
the highlights in her busy existence. Despite having  
inherited the Lane babble gene, most of the time she acted  
like a miniature copy of Clark.  
  
It was strange, she mused, that although Kiley resembled  
her, she acted like Clark. Joseph was the same way-he  
looked like Clark, but acted like Lois. Lois glanced over  
at her husband. From the joyous look he was wearing on his  
face, she knew that he, too, was thinking about their  
babies. Lois smiled fondly at her love. They hadn't been  
married for long when they had mutually discovered that  
they had a form of non-verbal communication that allowed  
them to know what the other was thinking. It had proved  
useful on many occasions, and she hoped that it would  
continue to do so.  
  
Before she could continue thinking along that tangent, her  
cell phone rang. As she talked to her source, Clark got  
out of the Jeep. "I'll be right back, honey," Clark walked  
inside the preschool and came out a few minutes later.  
Kiley clung to one hand, the remnants of tears still on her  
face. In his other hand, he carried his daughter's  
backpack and a note from her teacher. Clark opened the  
door to the Jeep and helped his daughter in, making sure  
that she was fastened securely in her safety seat.  
  
"Daddy," Kiley began in a tremulous voice, "will you kiss  
my boo-boo and make it better?" She held out her bandaged  
knee to her father, hope warring with tears in her big  
brown eyes. She knew what the note from her teacher was  
about and that she might possibly get in trouble for what  
she had done that day. Her knee really didn't hurt all  
that much, but she needed her adored daddy's reassurance  
that he still loved her.  
  
"Of course, sweetheart." Clark said, leaning over to kiss  
her knee and give her a hug. He saw the uncertainty in his  
daughter's eyes and knew that she needed some reassurance  
right now. "Kiley, we will always love you," he said  
softly and kissed her on the cheek. Kiley suddenly broke  
out in a smile. Her tears were temporarily forgotten; she  
was once again the cheerful, sunny child whom they loved so  
much.  
  
"I love you, Daddy," she said.  
  
Clark simply smiled and kissed her again before closing the  
door and climbing in himself. They needed to get back to  
the Planet and back to work... the truth about what had  
actually happened to the Athena wasn't something that would  
get figured out on its own.  
  
Lois continued to talk to her source as they drove back to  
the Planet. She peeked into the back, hoping that Kiley  
had fallen asleep. She'd seen the tearstains and knew  
that, whatever else, Kiley must have had a rough day. Lois  
smiled as she saw that her daughter had, indeed, fallen  
asleep. She quickly finished her conversation and turned  
to Clark. "The U.N. is in an uproar," she said in an  
urgent whisper. "They cancelled their science conference to  
deal with the research facility. No terrorist group has  
claimed responsibility, the NIA thinks it's a lone gunman."  
  
"Great. Just great," Clark replied, "Where is he going to  
strike next? The Eiffel Tower? The Parthenon?" Clark  
shook his head, remembering the disaster of September  
eleventh the previous year. "All it ever takes is one  
lunatic to bring the whole world crashing down around our  
ears!"  
  
"Not the whole world," Lois said, capturing his hand in  
hers as she drove. Clark looked lovingly at his wife.  
After all these years, he still wasn't sure how he had  
gotten lucky enough to have managed to marry her. "What?  
What're you looking at?", Lois said, noticing for the first  
time that he was staring at her.  
  
"You." Clark said. "I was thinking how different my life  
would have been if we'd never met."  
  
"What if you'd never left Smallville?" Lois asked  
thoughtfully.  
  
"Smallville? What if I'd never left," his voice lowered a  
bit so as not to wake Kiley, "Krypton?"  
  
Lois squeezed his hand as she pulled the Jeep into the  
Planet's parking garage. "Yeah," she said with a grin.  
"Your family might have had their hearts set on a daughter-  
in-law from Jupiter."  
  
"How'd you know about her?" Clark asked teasingly. Clark  
got out of the car, opened the back door, and began to  
unfasten Kiley's restraints. "You know, I bet they would  
have really liked you and the kids...Jor-El and Lara."  
  
"You think about them much?" Lois asked as she got out of  
the Jeep and walked around to the other side.  
  
"Sometimes," Clark said as he picked up Kiley and her  
backpack. "But that's behind me now. What's in front of  
me is *us* and *our* family." Clark used his free hand to  
gently caress her abdomen. Lois moved closer to him and  
leaned in as he captured her lips in his. After a few  
moments, Lois pulled back, smiled at him and took his hand  
in hers as they started walking toward the Planet daycare  
center to drop off Kiley.  
****  
  
George Thomas sat in a dark, windowless room. A metal  
table stood in front of him covered in electronic  
components and the beginnings of what looked like an  
exotic, star-shaped bomb. He loosened his tie and began to  
fiddle with the device in front of him. A few minutes  
later, he stopped and looked at his watch. Time to  
contact her, he thought with a sigh. He was reluctant to  
go along with this whole scheme. After all, if they  
succeeded, it would mean tearing a family apart. Thomas  
didn't like the idea of invoking the law and sending a man  
who was probably clueless about this whole mess into a  
situation where he might not be able to come home to his  
wife and children. He closed his eyes and concentrated.  
Are you alone?  
  
Sarah took a quick glance around her before her eyes  
lighted on Clark. He was hunched over his desk, speaking  
to someone over the phone. It was as if he didn't want  
anyone to overhear the conversation he was having. Sarah  
continued in her path towards the bookcase, unable or  
unwilling to take her eyes off Clark. I'm alone. Did  
they find it? she asked. Her mental voice sounded more  
than a trifle annoyed.  
  
No, and it was *super* obvious. A child of two could've  
discovered it. Maybe we should borrow their son Joseph and  
let *him* find it for them. Perhaps we should have laid  
down breadcrumbs, or a neon sign or a large...  
  
*Ching*! Don't start. I know you're not happy with this  
mission, but it is necessary. Sarah glanced down and  
watched Clark hang up the phone. Lois walked out of the  
back hall, returning from the restroom. Clark carefully  
slid the legal pad he had been making notes on under a  
stack of other papers and stood up to meet his wife. Sarah  
continued watching as Jimmy walked by with his camera in  
his hand and Clark said something that made the threesome  
start laughing. Sarah suppressed a twinge of jealousy as  
she watched Clark kiss Lois softly. After all, Kal-El  
belonged to her, not some Earth woman.  
  
Do I detect...fondness?? Even a hint of jealousy  
there? Ching inquired.  
  
Not at all Sarah retorted. In spite of herself she  
looked at Clark's butt as he leaned over the desk.  
  
Wait, I sense... You're attracted to how tight his  
clothing is across the muscles of his posterior? Ching's  
mental voice conveyed amazement at this new discovery.  
  
No I'm not! I was thinking about... Phase two. Sarah  
retorted.  
  
So, is *that* what they call it here? Then we'll  
continue as planned. It will be interesting to see if he  
can deal with that--it will be interesting to see how he  
deals with a situation like this. Ching broke the  
connection and returned to working on the bomb in front of  
him.  
  
Sarah's face hardened for a minute as she watched Lois and  
Clark walk into the conference room. She knew that he  
would probably succeed and return with them. He would be  
hers permanently after they left; he could not bring the  
Earth woman or his half-breed children with him.  
  
****  
  
Lois sat with her feet propped up in the conference room,  
watching Clark shoot rubber bands into a coffee mug. "So  
we've got the satellite dish but no transmitter..." she  
began.  
  
Without thinking, Clark finished her thought. "...and no  
suspects. Off the TV." Clark let go of the rubber band.  
It sailed through the air, hit the television screen, and  
richoted into the mug. Clark grinned in satisfaction. He  
was the strongest man in the world, but there was something  
strangely satisfying about doing something as simple as  
shooting a rubber band into a cup.  
  
"It can't be Lame Brain, the Prankster, the Churches, or  
Tempus," Lois said.  
  
"Because they're all in jail. Off the lamp with a twist,"  
Clark said as he let go of yet another rubber band. It  
sailed through the air, hit the lamp and performed a series  
of twisting loops through the air before landing in the  
cup.  
  
"And it can't be Lex, Bad Brain, or Cyclops Joe because  
they're all dead." Lois stated.  
  
"Also correct. Combo. Off the door, off the VCR, off the  
lamp and into the cup with a backwards flip," Clark said as  
he let the rubber band fly.  
  
The rubber band hit its targets and as it began to zing  
toward the cup, Lois snatched it in mid-air. Lois looked at  
her husband with mild exasperation. "You could at least  
miss every once in a while," she grumbled.  
Ray stuck his head in the door of the Conference room.  
"Dr. Klein is on three," he said. Ray could feel his face  
turning red as he delivered the message to the Planet's  
most famous reporting team. He'd been at the Planet for  
the past six months, but he was still shy of the reporting  
duo. Just as he was about to leave them in peace, Sarah  
crept up beside Ray and entered the room.  
  
Sarah set a stack of files down on the table. "Here's all  
I've been able to find on companies involved in microwave  
technology."  
  
Lois glanced over at Sarah, surprise written all over her  
features. "That was quick."  
  
Sarah blushed and averted her eyes, "I, um, knew it was  
important, so I kinda jumped you to the top of the list."  
Sarah looked up at Clark adoringly through her eyelashes.  
  
"Thanks," Clark said, barely glancing in her direction.  
  
"Um, y'all," Ray said, gesturing towards the phone. Lois  
reached toward the phone as Sarah and Ray left the room.  
  
****  
  
Sarah walked back to her little area and sat down at her  
desk. As she glanced back toward the conference room, a  
soft smile stole over her face. She had known that her  
Kal-El would be handsome. After all, all of the stories  
she had heard of him growing up confirmed that fact. They  
were lucky that they had been able to find him. Kryptonians  
were almost genetically identical to humans; it was only  
due to a thousand-year-old tradition that they had been  
able to locate him in the vast sea of humanity...  
  
****  
Lois punched the button for line three and put the phone in  
speaker mode. "Sorry to keep you waiting Dr. Klein."  
  
"I just finished deciphering the computer code that was  
sent to the underwater research center. It was very  
interesting actually, its an encryption based upon the  
multiples of the wavelength of--"  
  
"Dr. Klein?" Clark interrupted.  
  
"Right." Dr. Klein continued. "Okay. To the point. If  
Superman hadn't been able to save the research station, the  
main engines were programmed to stop and the propellers  
would've started anyway and the station would've saved  
itself."  
  
"You mean," Lois said slowly, "it was never in danger?"  
  
"Exactly," Dr. Klein answered.  
  
"But why would someone program it to put itself in jeopardy  
and then rescue itself?" Clark asked.  
  
"That's the eighty-five billion dollar question," Dr. Klein  
answered.  
  
"Thanks Dr. Klein." Lois hung up the phone and exchanged a  
glance with Clark. "I think we'd better call that real  
estate guy... What was his name again?"  
  
"George Thomas," Clark leaned over and brushed his lips  
across Lois's before picking up the phone and dialing the  
real estate agency. "Yes," Clark began, speaking into the  
phone. "I'd like to speak to George Thomas. Um hm. Yeah,  
he's one of your brokers. I saw him at a house today. Ok-  
ay, thank you. Bye." Clark replaced the phone in the cradle  
and turned to Lois.  
  
"They don't have a broker named George Thomas, do they?"  
Lois asked.  
  
"Bingo." Clark answered.  
  
"RAY!" Lois and Clark yelled together.  
  
Ray poked his head around the door and shot the duo a  
quizzical look. "Yes, oh great and powerful ones?" he  
said, a small smile playing around his lips. He had heard  
about Lois Lane's famous temper... He wasn't quite sure if  
he could get away with teasing her like this, but some  
small perverse part of him insisted that he try.  
  
Clark simply sighed and shook his head. "Call Detective  
Henderson and see if we can get some mug shots on guys who  
might do real estate scams and/or be an expert in microwave  
technology."  
  
"Oh, like those are related," Ray muttered under his breath  
as he began to walk over to his research station.  
  
Perry rushed into the Conference room, breathing heavily.  
"Clark, Lois," he yelled. "I just got an anonymous phone  
call that there's a bomb scheduled to go off across town in  
front of the Metropolis Interactive Science Museum. It's  
in a messenger bag by the double helix."  
  
Lois quickly turned to Clark. "Clark, you get the car.  
Has anybody called the police and the bomb squad?"  
  
"The cops have already been notified." Perry stated before  
hurrying out into the bullpen. "Ray, pull me what we've  
got on the museum." As Ray hurried off, Perry turned to  
face the rest of the newsroom and began furiously shouting  
orders. "Jane, yank Plastino off whatever he's doing and  
get him up here! Ricky, you and Dwyer head over to the  
police station. Come on, people, move move *move*! It's  
called 'news' because we get it before anybody else!"  
  
As Lois grabbed her purse, Clark ran towards the stairwell.  
Within milliseconds, he had spun into the suit and was on  
the way to the Science Museum. He landed outside and began  
searching for the messenger bag under the sculpture of the  
double helix. He turned to the patrons of the museum,  
"There may be a bomb. For your own safety, you all have to  
leave." A teacher standing nearby gathered up the children  
around her and hustled them off to their waiting school  
bus. Superman spared a moment to watch them leave, the  
name of the school painted upon the side of the bus,  
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson Elementary, barely registered in  
his brain.  
  
He swept the area with X-ray vision until he located the  
messenger bag. He strode over and picked it up and ripped  
it open quickly. Instead of a bomb, he found a jumble of  
electronic parts and a note. Superman picked up the note  
and began to read. 'Superman, if you're reading this, I  
assume you got my message. Here's the location of the real  
bomb. It's on this micro-CD. Unfortunately, you have to  
assemble the player in time to play it. One more minute.  
Good luck.'  
  
Sarah hurried out of the museum. She didn't know how she  
would explain her presence if asked, after all, she *was*  
supposed to be at the Daily Planet. She hoped that the  
bomb would prove to be sufficiently distracting so that  
Kal-El would not notice that she was there. It was  
necessary for both she and Ching to observe Kal-El's  
performance... They must know not only if he was worthy,  
but also if he would leave his wife and children behind.  
"Superman, what's going on?" Sarah asked, feigning  
puzzlement.  
  
"A very dangerous riddle," Superman began, "Now if you'll  
excuse me, I've got to concentrate." Superman reached into  
the bag and began assembling the electronics at superspeed.  
He was thankful that he had spent some time fixing the CD  
player last week. After all, the components couldn't be  
much different. It took three tries, but finally, the  
player was together. He slipped in the miniature CD and  
hit the play button. "Congratulations," a somewhat  
familiar voice began. "Hope it's not too late. Now here's  
another puzzle: Why is a raven like a writing desk? Alice  
went through it." Superman glanced at Sarah.  
  
"Don't look at me," she began, "I can't even do crossword  
puzzles."  
  
"Okay. Now the riddle "Why is a raven like a writing desk"  
came from 'Alice in Wonderland' which was written by Lewis  
Carroll. Lewis Carroll's real name was Charles Lutwidge  
Dodgson. A writing desk means that it's at a school, and  
there's an elementary school named after him." Superman  
took off and flew as fast as he could over to Charles  
Lutwidge Dodgson Elementary school. Time was running out  
and he knew that if he didn't hurry and locate the bomb,  
the school would blow up along with all of the children. He  
paced back and forth in the main entrance of the school,  
muttering to himself.  
  
"Alice went through the rabbit hole... But she also went  
through a looking glass in Carroll's second book. Now  
another word for looking glass is mirror, and since Alice  
went through it, it means that it must be in the girl's  
bathroom."  
  
Superman zipped into the unoccupied girls' restroom and  
began to x-ray the mirrors. Sure enough, one of the  
mirrors had a bomb behind it. He removed the mirror,  
pulled the bomb off the back, flew out of the school, and  
threw the bomb up in the air just as it exploded.  
Superman flew in the direction of the Planet building,  
thankful that the most recent bedtime story he had been  
reading to Kiley was "Alice in Wonderland".  
  
****  
  
Ching sat at a metal table and played with the food on a  
plate in front of him. This whole mission had made him  
lose his appetite. It wasn't really necessary for him to  
eat for several more days anyway. After all, the radiation  
from the yellow sun gave him almost all the sustenance he  
needed. On his own planet, things were a little  
different...  
  
The last thing Ching wanted to do was rip Kal-El away from  
his wife and children. Over the past month, he had seen  
the level of love and care that existed in the small family  
and he had no wish to destroy their lives. Our people can  
solve this problem by themselves, he thought. Ching had  
been a stubborn opponent to the plan from the first.  
Fetching Kal-El to resolve the problem might be the most  
expedient way to resolve the current situation, but it was  
not the only method available to them. Then there was also  
the irrevocable fact that he loved Sarah... and she did not  
know he existed.  
  
Sarah paced back and forth in front of the table. Her  
dinner sat virtually untouched. Kal-El had to pass the  
tests in order to return with her. She knew Ching's wish  
that they could leave him there, but it galled her that he  
had married an Earth woman. After all, according to law,  
it was their destiny to be together. She belonged to him  
and he to her. So it had always been in noble families...  
Marriage alliances that bound house to house and bound the  
people together in unity. From her childhood, she had heard  
stories of him.  
  
There was a locator chip inserted under the skin of his  
right arm soon after birth that transmitted where he was to  
the main database on their new home. There were as many  
such records as there were members of the nobility. Usually  
these chips were removed when a child reached full  
adulthood, but Kal-El had not been close enough for this to  
happen. The chips were a tradition from an earlier, more  
violent, period of history when the kidnapping of children  
from the nobility was a common tactic in the politics of  
the council.  
  
Without the chip, they probably would not have been able to  
find him among the people of Earth. Other devices in his  
ship had monitored him, following him until his tenth  
cycle. After that, the transmissions became fuzzier and  
patchier until, in his twelfth cycle, the devices finally  
stopped transmitting altogether. Until they had spent time  
underneath the yellow sun, they had been ignorant of the  
state of Kryptonians on this planet.  
  
Sarah broke off her train of thought and turned to face  
Ching. "The bomb almost exploded."  
  
"Correction," Ching said dryly, "The bomb did explode, just  
not before your friend, with another modest display of  
strength, threw it into the upper stratosphere. I still  
don't see why this is necessary. We don't need Kal-El to  
defeat one man; we can leave him here to raise his  
children."  
  
"You forget yourself," Sarah said. She glared at him for a  
moment. "We do need him; it is the most expedient solution  
to our problems."  
  
"And of course this has nothing to do with the fact that  
you've heard about him your entire life and you think that  
he belongs with you... And that you think that after he  
solves our world's current situation, you can convince him  
to completely abandon his family here and stay with you."  
Ching said with more than a hint of sarcasm in his voice.  
"All that the records show is that he was a nice child, and  
everything we've observed leads me to the conclusion that  
he would never abandon his pregnant wife and their two  
small children."  
  
"Ching, you're right about the fact that I've loved Kal-El  
for years. But it's also true that once our enemy finds  
out that he's alive and has a family, not only will he  
destroy our world but he will also destroy this one and  
Kal-El's family as well. We both know how ruthless he is.  
This may not be the only solution, but it is the best one."  
  
Ching sighed and covered his face with his hands. Sarah  
was right. As much as he hated it, it was the only  
solution that would enable Kal-El to protect his little  
ones. "The testing will continue," he said reluctantly. "  
We must discover if he will aid us in our quest."  
  
****  
  
Clark landed in the alley outside the Daily Planet and  
walked quickly inside. He peeked in the daycare facility  
to check on Kiley and Joseph. It was still early  
afternoon, and both children were fast asleep on their  
mats. A soft smile stole over his face as he contemplated  
the sight of his babies, asleep side-by-side. Kiley's arm  
was thrown over Joseph's shoulder in a protective gesture  
and their mats had somehow been scooted together so that  
Joseph, lying on his tummy, was cuddled up next to his big  
sister.  
  
Clark walked away quietly and went to meet Lois at their  
Jeep. They had planned to go back to the house on Creel  
Drive to see if they could find anything unusual without  
the interruption from 'George Thomas'. Just as Clark  
walked over to their usual parking space in the Planet's  
underground parking garage, Lois arrived. It wasn't long  
before she was driving at her usual breakneck speed toward  
the house.  
  
****  
  
Clark stood quietly in the backyard of the house on Creel  
Drive by the satellite dish. He carefully scanned the area  
one more time, hoping to find the device that had somehow  
transmitted the signal that almost led to disaster. Clark  
heard a car door slam. He turned around as Lois came up  
behind him. "How does George Thomas fit into this?" he  
wondered out loud.  
  
"Either he's really smart...or a madman." Lois said, "Or  
even worse, a really smart madman. So what are we looking  
for?"  
  
"Anything unusual, no matter how unimportant it seems,"  
Clark answered.  
  
Lois began to prowl around the backyard, looking for  
anything that would be out of place. "Okay, let's assume  
the worst case scenario: he's a really smart madman. This  
has got to be something big. He can out-think the most  
brilliant scientists in the nation..."  
  
"...and is willing to risk hundreds of lives," Clark said.  
  
"But why would he do all this? The underwater research  
facility was a bluff..." Lois questioned.  
  
"The bomb behind the mirror at the school wasn't a bluff,"  
Clark stated.  
  
Lois shrugged as her husband x-rayed the satellite dish  
once more. Finding nothing, he slowly shook his head. "El  
zippo," Clark glanced at Lois. "It's definitely strange.  
For a moment I thought they might've been attempts to get  
me out of the way so some other crimes could be committed,  
but nothing's happened."  
  
"It's... almost as if... you're being tested..." Lois said.  
  
"Or set up for something bigger," Clark thought for a  
moment, " Yeah. Definitely. Something bigger."  
  
Lois looked down at the low wall surrounding the bushes.  
"Hey, here's a quarter we can use toward the down payment."  
Lois walked over and looked at the coin before handing it  
to Clark. "This... isn't a quarter," she said slowly.  
  
Clark looked at the device that Lois was holding. "It's a  
micro transmitter."  
  
"Then this is what Dr. Klein homed in on. The satellite  
dish was just a decoy," Lois said, understanding dawning on  
her face.  
  
"He did say plus or minus five feet. Let me see." Lois  
dropped the device into Clark's outstretched hand. The  
moment the transmitter made contact with his skin, a  
hologram of George Thomas appeared. Lois and Clark  
started in surprise at the appearance of the image.  
Clark's free arm automatically came up and encircled Lois,  
pulling her close to him as the hologram of George Thomas  
began to speak.  
  
"Finally, it's about time you found this, Superman. Or  
should I say Super-slow-man? Wait, don't answer. I just  
wanted to say 'Hello' and tell you that you'll be seeing a  
lot more of me soon. The best... and worst... are yet to  
come. Farewell."  
  
As the hologram shut down, Lois looked at Clark. "He  
doesn't want to do this," she stated quietly. "There's  
something in his eyes that doesn't click with what he's  
saying."  
  
Clark put the transmitter in his jacket pocket and pulled  
her a little closer. "That may be," he began, "But in the  
meanwhile, we need to get this to Dr. Klein." Clark  
reluctantly let go of Lois and reached for her hand as they  
began to walk back to the Jeep.  
  
****  
  
Jonathan and Martha walked out of the shed carrying old  
milking cans, long fluorescent tubes, and a spool of  
electrical wire. It had been a long day on the farm and  
Jonathan was tired. It didn't help that Martha just *had*  
to go looking for junk for her latest sculpture. He didn't  
mind... not really. After all, if it made his Martha  
happy, it was worth it. He looked at her and smiled.  
After more than 35 years of marriage, she was still his  
reason to get up in the morning. He didn't know what he'd  
do without her. Hopefully, he'd never have to find out.  
The couple turned as Jonathan locked the door of the shed  
behind them.  
  
"These will be perfect for my modern sculpture class,"  
Martha said, smiling down at her armful.  
  
"But how are you going to light up both of them?" Jonathan  
asked, a puzzled look adorning his face.  
  
Martha looked up at him and smiled. "I haven't figured  
that out yet," she said.  
  
As they turned around to start back up to the house, a  
figure dressed in blue jeans and a flannel shirt came out  
from around the barn. "Mr. and Mrs. Kent?" he asked.  
  
"Yes?" Jonathan answered.  
  
Their guest smiled and held out his hand for them to shake.  
He hated doing this, after all, Kal-El's adopted parents  
seemed like really nice people. Momentarily he wondered why  
it was that he had to do all of the dirty work...  
  
**** 


	2. The Tests Continue

****  
Dr. Klein placed the micro-transmitter under a high-powered  
microscope that was hooked up to a computer. He smiled in  
delight as he watched the circuitry pop up on the computer  
screen. He gestured for Lois and Clark to take a closer  
look as he leaned over the eyepiece of the microscope.  
"I've got to tell you, this is like nothing I've ever  
seen!" He stared at the computer screen as the  
magnification increased. The level of circuitry on the chip  
was absolutely amazing. Looking at the chip, Dr. Klein  
knew that the technology involved in manufacturing such a  
device was currently beyond any of the recent technological  
developments.  
  
"Whoever built this is a genius. I'm down to almost the  
atomic-level and there's still circuitry. Oh... hold on...  
there seems to be some lettering here..." Dr Klein used the  
mouse to pan the picture across the circuit. Soon the  
words 'CHING LTD.' popped up on the screen.  
  
Lois grabbed her cell phone out of her purse and called the  
planet. "Jimmy? Do me a huge favor and find the address  
for a company called Ching Limited. Two words, the last is  
an abbreviation. Yes, I know you don't do these kind of  
things anymore, but you're the only one I trust to help  
with this."  
  
Across town, Jimmy sat as his desk, typing furiously into  
his computer. "If you'll hold on for a second, I'll have it  
for you... ask and ye shall receive, Ching Limited is at  
379 Gross, suite 518."  
  
"Got it! Thanks Jimmy!" Lois snapped her phone shut.  
"Thanks Dr. Klein. C'mon Clark, let's go pay them a  
visit." Lois and Clark rushed out the door, heading for  
the Jeep. Clark knew that he would have to convince Lois  
to take a rest soon... He wanted to make sure that both she  
and the baby would be okay. Her pregnancy with Joseph had  
been a difficult one and he wanted to protect her health  
and the health of their unborn little one.  
  
****  
  
Ching sat in his apartment, staring blindly at the monitors  
in front of him. His mind was not on the images of the  
Superman rescues that were currently replaying at high  
speed on the screens in front of him. With a grimace of  
distaste, he pulled at the bulky black commando-style  
fatigues that he wore. He again wondered why the council  
had insisted on sending him to this dirtball to destroy an  
entire family. He admired Kal-El for what he had managed  
to accomplish on such an alien planet and even envied him  
for the great love and acceptance he had found.  
  
Ching wondered sadly if he would ever find someone to love  
him the way Kal-El had. His eyes flickered over to the  
surveillance screen that monitored the comings and goings  
of people around the apartment. Ching watched Kal-El and  
his wife step out of a ground-based vehicle. He was  
expecting them. It surprised him that they had taken so  
long to locate his current base of operations.  
  
He heard their heartbeats as they approached the door.  
Mentally, he prepared himself for what he knew he had to  
do. Ching reached for the button that switched the  
pictures on the monitors to other scenes and pushed it. A  
cold, impassive mask settled over his features as a knock  
echoed throughout the almost empty apartment. "It's open,"  
he called and waited for the appearance of the people whose  
hearts he was under orders to break.  
  
****  
  
Lois and Clark cautiously entered the apartment. With all  
of the testing that Clark had been subjected to that day,  
they were unsure if they were currently walking into a  
trap. Lois had a bad feeling about this whole situation...  
Something about it just didn't feel right. Ever since the  
Athena had made its aborted dive into the Mariana Trench,  
she had felt as if an axe was hanging over them, getting  
ready to fall.  
  
"Good," Thomas began, turning around in his chair to face  
them. "You're here. Now the real fun begins."  
  
"Listen, Thomas," Lois began. She was a little nervous  
about confronting this guy. After all, he had shown his  
callousness towards human life in both of the incidents  
earlier that day. "Or whoever you are. If we don't get  
some answers, Superman is going to come through that door  
in about two seconds." Lois glared at George Thomas  
defiantly.  
  
In that moment, Thomas began to understand precisely what  
Kal-El saw in this woman of Earth. He envied him. Thomas  
quashed the spark of jealousy ruthlessly, making sure that  
none of it showed on his face before answering.  
  
"Oh really?" Thomas drawled sarcastically. "One. Two." An  
ironic smile crossed Thomas's face as nothing happened.  
"Oops, did I miss him? Or perhaps you were exaggerating a  
bit? I guess we'll have to go on without him then." Thomas  
gestured to the monitors.  
  
Clark's eyes widened in shock as he saw his parents tied up  
outside their storage shed. A bomb, formed in the shape of  
a star, snuggled up next to them. Its very design conveyed  
menace and danger. One of his worst nightmares had become  
a reality--his parents were in mortal danger because a  
madman had discovered who he really was. It was the only  
explanation that he could think of; over the years they had  
purposely distanced themselves from his superhero persona.  
The only reason for endangering Clark Kent's parents to get  
to Superman would be if the criminals knew his other  
identity. Clark tore his eyes away from the image of his  
parents and to the other screen. Another star-shaped bomb,  
identical in design to the first, sat on their children's  
picnic table outside their brownstone.  
  
Lois shivered at the sight of the bombs and turned around  
to face Clark. She wound her arms around his neck and  
buried her head in his shoulder. What next? she  
wondered. Would this madman come after Kiley and Joseph  
next? After all, the placement of the bomb suggests a  
veiled threat... Slowly, she released her husband and  
turned around to glare at Thomas.  
  
"*NO*!" Clark yelled. The word tore from his throat as if  
it had been ripped out.  
  
"Now here's the interesting dilemma," Thomas began. "The  
two bombs are electronically  
linked. Stop one, the other one goes off. Separate them,  
say by throwing one into space, the other one goes off.  
So... do you save Metropolis, or your parents? I assure  
you that the bomb in your backyard will easily destroy the  
city. What do you say, Clark... or should I say,  
Superman?" Inwardly, Thomas flinched as he delivered his  
pre-planned ultimatum. He was beginning to hate himself  
for what he was doing. He knew that Kal-El would most  
likely pass this test... And the resulting situation would  
probably rip Kal-El's family apart.  
  
Clark strode forward, grabbed Thomas by the throat, and  
slammed him against the wall. "Why are you doing this?"  
Clark demanded. Thomas hung in Clark's grasp limply.  
Before Thomas could answer, Sarah walked up behind them.  
  
"Because we need to know," Sarah stated.  
  
At the sound of Sarah's voice, Lois and Clark turned around  
to face her. Sarah was clad from head to toe in a form-  
fitting black bodysuit. As she turned in the light, the  
fabric shimmered with a metallic sheen. "Sarah!" Lois  
exclaimed. "Why are you here? What do you need to know?"  
  
Thomas looked at Clark and sneered. "Thirty seconds. Now  
is not the time to dawdle. Do you save two people you love  
dearly, your parents, or a million strangers?"  
  
Lois glared at Thomas, a mutinous expression on her face.  
"It's not fair! You can't make him choose!"  
  
Sarah looked at Clark and smiled sweetly. "People have to  
make choices all the time," she began, "Low-fat or regular.  
Calvin Klein or Versace." She looked pointedly at Clark.  
"Life, or Death? What will it be?"  
  
"Stop. The. Bombs." Clark growled, biting off the end of  
each word.  
  
"Did you just think of that?" Thomas inquired, his face a  
picture of innocence. "That's nice, but I cannot."  
  
Lois looked at Thomas in despair. "Nobody can be in two  
places at once, he'd have to split himself in two!" she  
exclaimed.  
  
Clark looked at his wife and smiled. He had an idea. With  
a whoosh and a sonic boom, Clark disappeared from view and  
reappeared on the monitor dressed as Superman. He scanned  
the star bomb on the children's picnic table and discovered  
that Thomas had told the truth; if he threw the bomb into  
the air, the one next to his parents would also explode.  
Clark leapt into the air and flew over to STAR Labs. With  
a whoosh, he picked up the laser device that Lois had  
noticed earlier in the day and dropped a note that  
fluttered down in front of Dr. Klein.  
  
Dr. Klein picked up the note and began to read. "Sorry Dr.  
Klein, but I need to borrow this. Thank you. --Superman."  
Dr. Klein smiled and simply shook his head. This was a bit  
of a setback for his experiment, but he knew that Superman  
wouldn't have borrowed his device without just cause.  
After all, Clark *had* heard the explanation that he had  
given Lois earlier that day. Dr. Klein walked over to his  
desk and pulled up the results from the children's last  
checkup. After all, he still needed to discover whether or  
not Kiley and Joseph would inherit Clark's superpowers.  
  
****  
  
"Why are you doing this? Are you insane?" Lois asked  
frantically.  
  
"No," Sarah began slowly, "It's a test. And one I'm deadly  
serious about."  
  
"And now we know the answer!" Thomas said, a tiny smile  
flitting across his face, "He's going to save Metropolis,  
we can stop now." He reached behind the monitor and pulled  
out a tiny black box. Just as he was about to press the  
button that would deactivate the bombs, Sarah snatched it  
out of his hand.  
  
Lois watched helplessly as Sarah crushed the remote control  
and threw the pieces to the floor. "No!" she exclaimed.  
"We have to see it through. We *have* to know absolutely."  
  
****  
  
Clark flew up in the air, holding the laser beam splitter  
that he had acquired from Dr. Klein's lab. He positioned  
it a few feet away from his face and glared into it with  
his heat vision. The device split his heat vision into two  
beams. Within seconds, the beams shorted out the timing  
devices on both of the bombs, stopping them just as they  
reached one second. Clark sighed in relief; it had worked.  
  
****  
  
"Yes!" Lois yelled in relief. Both her in-laws and the  
city were safe. She was relieved that her husband had  
managed to once again, save them from a madman.  
  
Despite himself, Thomas smiled, "He did it!" Sarah glared  
at Thomas. She knew that Thomas was just thankful that  
innocent people had not been killed due to what he saw as  
an unnecessary mission. She knew Thomas would rather Kal-  
El fail... just not at the expense of innocent lives.  
Thomas was a bit softhearted in that way--he was an  
excellent warrior who hated the necessity of war.  
  
****  
  
Clark landed in the farmyard and quickly untied his  
parents. "Mom, Dad, are you okay?" he asked anxiously.  
  
"Now we are," Jonathan responded. "But that was a little  
more excitement than I think we'd normally care for."  
  
"Don't worry, you're not the only ones in for some  
excitement. Mom would you hold this for a few minutes?"  
Clark handed the beam splitter to Martha and took off,  
headed back toward Metropolis.  
  
Martha studied the beam splitter for a moment before  
looking up at Jonathan. She smiled suddenly. "Jonathan,"  
she began, "I think I can use this in my sculpture class."  
  
Jonathan and Martha gathered up the pieces of junk that  
they had removed earlier from the shed and walked back up  
to the house.  
  
****  
  
Lois looked over at Thomas. "Mr. Thomas, I don't  
understand. Why did you do this? What's going on?" she  
demanded.  
  
Thomas hung his head and looked at the ground. "I can't  
explain right now," he said softly.  
  
Sarah turned to Lois. "You! If it weren't for you, this  
would have been a fairer test. You spoiled it. This is  
your fault," Sarah snarled at Lois before turning to  
Thomas. "Come on, we have to go."  
  
Without thinking, Lois reached out to grab Sarah's arm.  
Sarah casually flung her off. Before she could hit the  
wall behind her, Thomas caught her and gently set her upon  
the floor before glaring at Sarah and hurrying out the  
door. Lois sat on the floor for a moment, stunned by what  
had just happened. Most bad guys would have let her hit  
the wall.... There was something very different about this  
'George Thomas', it was almost as if he were on their side.  
  
Lois climbed slowly to her feet as Clark zipped into the  
room. As Clark silently spun back into his everyday  
clothes, Lois looked at her watch. She held out her hand  
to him and began to gently tug him in the direction of the  
door. "It's time to get Kiley and Joseph," she said softly.  
"There's nothing here besides the computer equipment  
anyway." On the way to the car, Lois explained what  
happened, not forgetting to include Thomas's inexplicable  
behavior.  
  
"He knew that you are Superman," Lois said worriedly.  
  
"I know... And how does Sarah fit into all of this?" Clark  
rubbed a hand across his eyes. "This is what I've been  
afraid of; now that they know who I am, it puts you, Kiley,  
and Joseph at risk. They already threatened my parents..."  
Clark looked at Lois with worry in his eyes. "What if they  
come after you next?"  
  
"Clark," Lois said quietly, "We knew that something like  
this might happen. We'll just deal with it. After all,  
plans like this take time. They probably knew about you  
long before today. It's okay. I love you." Lois reached  
over, took Clark's hand and squeezed it comfortingly.  
  
Clark stopped walking for a moment and took her in his  
arms. "I promise that I will do whatever is necessary to  
protect you and our kids." He turned her hand over and  
dropped a kiss in her palm. "I love you," he said softly.  
  
"I know." Lois smiled up at her husband before she broke  
his embrace and began to head back to the car. She laced  
her fingers through his as they walked. Whatever problems  
arose, she knew they would face them, together.  
  
****  
  
Ching sat with his head in his hands. I seem to be  
spending more and more time in this position lately, he  
reflected wryly. He knew what was bothering him. It  
didn't take a genius to figure that out. Kal-El. The last  
and final test would be tonight... and Ching had no doubts  
that Kal-El would again pass. He had accepted that Kal-El  
was the best solution to their problem, but deep down  
inside, he knew that what they were planning simply wasn't  
right.  
  
Sarah's crush on Kal-El didn't help matters either.  
Intellectually, Ching knew that it was a crush brought on  
by far too many fairy tales, but that fact didn't make it  
any easier to bear. He loved her and it was hopeless. It  
wasn't just the fact that she belonged to another by law;  
she was also nobility and he was not. A slightly bitter  
smile adorned his face as he straightened. Ching carefully  
schooled his features not to reveal his thoughts as he  
reinforced the shield around his private mind. As soon as  
Sarah returned from the Daily Planet, he knew that he had  
to confront her with certain facts.  
  
Sarah grimaced. As she stood at the entrance to their  
ship, she could feel his turmoil. Ching had always been a  
bit too ethical for his own good. She sighed in relief as  
she felt his shields raise around his mind. It was a mark  
of his trust in her that he would let down his shields  
anywhere in her vicinity; after all, he knew what a strong  
telepath she was...and that she could easily eavesdrop from  
halfway around the city. She closed her eyes and stepped  
forward into the ship. No matter how many times she did  
that, she always experienced a thrill of apprehension.  
There was always the fear of accidentally walking into the  
wall that the entrance masqueraded as.  
  
"Ching?" Sarah called softly.  
  
"Z-Sarah," Ching answered. He came out of the sleeping  
area and looked at her quizzically.  
  
"Ching, you know that you can't use my real name  
here...even in your thoughts. Kal-El, though untrained, is  
one of the most powerful telepaths we've ever met. One  
slip and he will know everything; and we can't risk that  
until he has passed the tests." Sarah scolded.  
  
"Would that be such a bad thing?" he asked unhappily.  
"Kal-El has the right to know what we have planned for  
him... That we plan to convince him to leave his family to  
prevent our destruction by our own folly."  
  
"Our situation is *not* our fault, it's entirely the doing  
of--"  
  
"Oh really?" Ching interrupted. "And how many among us can  
spot a dangerously unbalanced mind? How many of us turned  
a blind eye to the fact that he is a megalomaniac with a  
large sadistic streak... and that he is also stark raving  
mad?"  
  
"Okay," Sarah conceded, "You're right... but the fact  
stands that Kal-El is the only one with a strong enough  
legal claim to me to stop our enemy. We both know that he  
is virtually powerless unless he has a claim on me and Kal-  
El's presence will make that impossible." A dreamy look  
stole over Sarah's face at the thought of Kal-El.  
  
Ching sighed in exasperation and ran a hand through his  
hair. "That's another thing Sarah; your obsession with  
Kal-El. He's already *married* and he loves his wife."  
  
Sarah glared at Ching. "That is irrelevant. He was  
married to me first and by law, she is only a concubine and  
their children--"  
  
"Are still heirs to the throne," Ching interrupted. "By  
law, as long as he acknowledges them, they are of the house  
of El and therefore his heirs. Your attitude towards them  
is also unwarranted. They are only children...and you and  
the Council have insisted upon taking their loving father  
away from them. His wife is pregnant with their third  
child, you know."  
  
"I know," Sarah said, naked envy showing clearly on her  
face.  
  
"I took the liberty of scanning their memories." Ching  
stated quietly.  
  
"You WHAT?" Sarah exclaimed.  
  
"Well... I didn't *really* scan their memories. I just  
kind of nudged them to remember...and then eavesdropped on  
their thoughts. Kal-El fell in love with his wife within  
about one second after meeting her. She fell in love with  
him at the same time... it just took longer for her to  
realize it. They have overcome everything to be together.  
Lois, his wife, will not forgive easily when you take her  
husband away from her; especially now," Ching explained.  
  
Sarah's resolve hardened. "This will work; it has to. The  
last test will commence at full dark."  
  
****  
  
Clark sat on the couch, turning the note from Kiley's  
teacher over in his hands. He pondered the contents of the  
note yet again. He knew that he and Lois had to talk to  
their daughter; pushing matches just weren't acceptable.  
"Kiley," Clark called softly.  
  
Kiley bounced in the room, a happy smile adorning her face.  
"Hi Daddy!" she said as she threw her arms around his neck.  
  
Clark pulled his daughter on to his lap. "Kiley," he began  
quietly, "Would you like to tell me what happened at school  
today?"  
  
Kiley looked up at him and her face fell. She had been  
hoping that her dad would forget about the note. "Daddy,"  
she began, "Bobby was picking on Emily. He's lots bigger  
than both of us an' he was gonna hurt her. So I got Emily  
to go for the teacher an' I pushed Bobby down. He got up  
an' pushed me, an' then I pushed him again an' then the  
teacher got there."  
  
"Kiley, we've talked about this before. Now, why shouldn't  
we push or hit people?" Clark asked his daughter  
earnestly.  
  
"Cause somebody could get hurt..." Kiley answered timidly.  
  
"That's right." Clark began. " Now it was good that you  
stood up for somebody smaller than you are, but next time,  
just go get the teacher okay? Promise me?"  
  
Kiley nodded her assent and snuggled closer to him. He  
dropped a kiss on the top of her head and looked down at  
his baby girl. "Kiley, I'm going to call Emily's mom and  
tell her that Emily can't come over this weekend to play  
because you pushed Bobby," Clark said.  
  
"But, Daddy, you *promised* that she could," Kiley began.  
  
"Yes, punkin' I did, but you knew that you shouldn't hit or  
push people. Emily can come and play another time.  
Sweetheart, I promise she can, but this is your punishment  
for fighting at school today." Clark looked down at his  
daughter. Her lower lip was out in what he privately  
referred to as the 'pouting position'. He knew that she  
would be okay and into some fresh, new mischief by the next  
day.  
  
He dropped another kiss on the top of her head and set her  
on the couch next to him. "Kiley, go wash up for dinner  
okay?" He watched his daughter reluctantly get up and head  
to the bathroom before he went into the kitchen to check on  
dinner. He would have liked to have Lois with him when he  
gave Kiley her deserved scolding, but she was currently  
upstairs helping Joseph wash for supper.  
  
Lois descended the stairs, Joseph in tow. It had been the  
longest day in a very long time and Lois was thankful that  
it was almost over. She hoped that they could have a  
normal night together as a family without any Superman  
emergencies calling Clark away. Lois picked up Joseph,  
walked into the kitchen, and installed him in his booster  
seat. Joseph looked up at her and smiled charmingly.  
"Tank you, Mommy," he said.  
  
Lois dropped a kiss on the top of Joseph's head. "You're  
welcome, sweetheart," she said before going to take the  
dishes out of the cabinet. While Clark was busy pulling  
dinner out of the oven, Lois set the table. "Kiley," she  
called, "dinner is ready, come to the table!"  
  
Kiley walked into the room and pulled herself into a chair.  
She sat there with her lip still stuck out in a pout. It  
had been a long day and she was hungry, but she still  
wanted to pout over the fact that her Daddy was punishing  
her. She knew that she shouldn't have pushed Bobby, but  
just because she had didn't mean that he had to tell  
Emily's mommy that Emily couldn't come over to play.  
  
Lois leaned over and gave Kiley a hug. Clark had opened  
the letter earlier that day and they had talked about what  
a just punishment would be. Lois knew from experience that  
by bedtime, Kiley would have forgotten her sulk. Sure  
enough, halfway through dinner, Kiley regained her normally  
cheerful demeanor.  
  
Lois and Clark followed their normal Monday night routine.  
They had their Monday night family night and it wasn't long  
before Kiley and Joseph had been bathed, had their stories  
and songs, said their prayers, and were tucked into bed.  
Lois peeked into the children's rooms one more time to make  
sure they were asleep before heading downstairs. She  
curled up next to Clark on the couch and, as his arms  
encircled her, snuggled into his embrace.  
  
Clark bent his head and captured her lips with his softly.  
"I love you," he said quietly. As he held Lois in his  
arms, he couldn't help but think how perfect life was; he  
had everything he'd ever wanted. He rested his cheek on  
the top of her head and pulled her closer to him.  
  
Lois smiled as his hand came to rest protectively on her  
abdomen. They had spent many evenings together like this,  
simply cuddled together, happy in each other's presence.  
Lois tipped her head up for another kiss. "I love you,  
too," she murmured.  
  
Clark's head shot up and a puzzled look crossed his face.  
Superman...  
  
"What is it?" Lois asked.  
  
"Shhh, honey." Clark said. He planted a quick kiss on her  
forehead.  
  
Yes, it is I... I am here... in your backyard... Don't  
keep me waiting.  
  
"What did you hear?"" Lois asked softly.  
  
"A voice... in my head; it sounded like George Thomas.  
He's waiting outside... in our backyard," Clark said.  
  
"Then we have to go outside," Lois said. She stood up,  
grabbed Clark's hand, tugged him to his feet, and began to  
walk towards the back door.  
  
Clark looked at Lois for a moment and motioned for her to  
stop. "Wait a minute," Clark said. He spun into the suit  
and took her hand again. "In case Kiley wakes up and looks  
out the window, I'd rather she not see her dad fighting  
after the scolding I gave her this afternoon... And it  
might come to that." Clark took Lois's hand in his as she  
resumed her insistent tugging toward the door. She threw  
him a brief smile as they stepped out into the backyard.  
  
Thomas and Sarah were waiting for them. Thomas carefully  
stepped away from them toward the wall of the brownstone.  
  
Clark dropped Lois's hand and assumed his 'Superman' pose.  
"I'm going to put you away for the rest of your life,"  
Clark said sternly.  
  
"That would be an extremely long time. Before you can  
attempt that, you'll have to pass one last test. How much  
are you willing to sacrifice to personally 'put me away'?"  
Inwardly, Thomas flinched as he heard the words come out of  
his mouth. He hated both the way he sounded and the  
hateful words that he was engaged in hurling at the man  
who, by birth, was his overlord.  
  
Clark glared at Thomas. If there was one thing he hated  
more than anything else, it was someone who would put the  
lives of innocents at risk for their own gain... especially  
when the innocents in question were children. "Plenty,"  
Clark growled.  
  
Sarah walked forward, a tiny smile hovering around the  
corners of her mouth. She didn't think it would take much  
to convince her Kal-El to come home where he belonged.  
After all, she, through Trey, knew how little information  
had been sent to Earth with him as a child. She had used  
her time at the Daily Planet to research the articles that  
he had written... One specific article had caught her eye;  
it was about adoption and the plight of adopted children.  
It didn't take much to read between the lines and find out  
that Kal-El knew little or nothing about his birth  
family... and that he wanted to know.  
  
Thomas stood solidly in place. "Bravo!" he exclaimed.  
"That's the attitude! Now... Come and get me."  
  
Clark strode forward, only to jump back as he encountered a  
green, glowing, dome-like shield. He felt the familiar,  
wrenching, sickening pain that came with exposure to  
Kryptonite as his normally impervious skin came into  
contact with the green energy that made up the shield.  
Clark glared at Thomas through the shield. It seemed that  
they were at an impasse--he couldn't get any closer than he  
already was to the dratted shield, and Thomas would not  
come out.  
  
"Two guesses what this is; it rhymes with 'Kryptonite'."  
Thomas shook his finger at Lois. "Lois, no helping!"  
  
Lois glared at Thomas. Fear warred with anger as emotions  
flitted across her features. "Turn it off!" she demanded  
angrily.  
  
Thomas ignored Lois's demand and turned back to Clark.  
"Okay, it's Kryptonite," he said. "Actually it's a  
Kryptonite force field. What's the matter, Superman,"  
Thomas taunted, "Don't you still want me?"  
  
Lois glared at Thomas. She desperately wanted to defend  
Clark, but she knew that stepping forward into the  
Kryptonite shield would most likely be lethal for their  
child. "If you'll come out of there, I'll take a piece of  
you," Lois snarled. She hated it when anybody attacked her  
Clark.  
  
In spite of her better judgment, Lois began to step  
forward. Suddenly, she felt a restraining hand clasp her  
around her arm. "He must do this alone," Sarah's calm  
voice stated. Lois tried to shrug off Sarah's hands, but  
her grip was as tight as steel.  
  
Clark pulled himself a little bit further away from the  
shield until the pain receded. He knew that the man,  
whatever his name was, needed to be in jail for the  
bombings that had taken place that day as well as for  
putting the lives of so many scientists and their families  
at risk. But, how could he get any closer when the man had  
a shield somehow constructed of kryptonite? Clark glowered  
at Thomas. He wished that, for once, life could be easy.  
  
Thomas sighed inwardly as he saw Kal-El move away from the  
shield. He really wanted no part in this venture... and  
now he had to taunt his lord yet again. "Good idea. Or  
better yet, why don't you just run away?" Outwardly, Thomas  
smirked; he was beginning to get into the part he was  
playing.  
  
Clark backed further away from the shield. He didn't want  
to turn Lois into a widow or leave his children fatherless;  
it felt as if their lives together had barely begun. "You  
can't hide in there forever," Clark said threateningly.  
  
"I don't intend to," Thomas said, a soft smile adorning his  
face. He reached into the cuff of his uniform and pulled  
out a small weapon. He knew all along that it would come  
to this. If Kal-El failed, then his life would be well  
sacrificed; a family would be saved. After all, sometimes  
how you died made just as much of a difference as how you  
lived. Thomas didn't want to think of what would happen if  
Kal-El succeeded.  
  
He rolled the weapon over in his hand. "Expand," he said  
in a commanding voice. The weapon expanded to a full-sized  
particle disruptor. He knew that if Kal-El didn't manage  
to stop him, the weapon would scatter his atoms to the far  
reaches of the galaxy.  
  
Lois looked at Thomas in disbelief. "Are you crazy?" She  
asked. "What are you doing?"  
  
"Simple," Thomas answered. He used his free hand to wipe  
the sweat out of his eyes. "I'm testing the Man of Steel.  
I intend to shoot myself." Thomas turned to Clark. "Now  
of course, Superman, you can *try* to stop me, but in order  
to do that you have to pass through the force field which  
is, as you can tell, lethal."  
  
Lois looked at Thomas in horror. She knew Clark as well as  
she knew herself and it was a surety that he would at least  
attempt to save Thomas. "You *are* crazy," she murmured.  
"Either that or..." Lois trailed off and stared at the man  
inside the shield.  
  
Thomas again ignored Lois and focused on Clark. "So, you  
can either let me die, the man who tried to kill your  
parents and about a million or so other people, or you can  
die trying to save me. It's quite, how do you say... the  
Gordian Knot."  
  
Comprehension dawned on Lois as she stared at Thomas.  
"You're bluffing," she said.  
  
Thomas sneered elegantly at Lois. "I wasn't bluffing about  
those bombs, was I?" Thomas played with the weapon for a  
moment. It lit up, fully charged.  
  
Clark walked forward until he again encountered the  
kryptonite shield. He staggered back, pain lancing through  
his body. Clark knew that getting close to the shield  
wasn't the smartest thing for him to do, but the urge to  
protect was simply too strong. He simply could not let  
someone die when he had the power to save them.  
  
Thomas's face twisted into a grimace as he brought the  
energy weapon closer to his head. "Five," he said,  
beginning to count down.  
  
"Thomas," Sarah began, "Finish this quickly please." Sarah  
knew that the delay was necessary, but there were still  
arrangements to be made if Kal-El were to return with them.  
  
Thomas glared at Sarah for a moment. "Four," he growled,  
bringing the weapon even closer to his head.  
  
Sarah sighed and shook her head. She wished that this  
final test would be completed soon. She wanted to go home.  
  
Thomas caught the expression on Sarah's face and grimaced.  
He wished that the Council had never thought up this  
idiotic idea. He raised the weapon into position.  
"Three."  
  
Lois looked at him in astonishment. "What is killing  
yourself going to prove?" she demanded.  
  
Thomas looked at Lois for a moment, pain written on his  
face. "That keeping a family together is important... And  
that we can solve our problems at home. Two."  
  
Clark looked at Thomas. He had absolutely no idea what the  
man was talking about. "Whatever it is, it can't be worth  
dying for."  
  
Thomas looked at Clark. The pain in his eyes was replaced  
with a subtle sadness. "Yes it is. One."  
  
Clark made a mad dash for the shield, determination written  
all over his face. He passed through the barrier at  
superspeed, knocked the weapon out of Thomas's hand, and  
pushed Thomas to the ground. A scream ripped its way out  
of Clark's throat before he collapsed against the wall of  
the house from the pain inflicted upon him by the  
kryptonite shield.  
  
Thomas deactivated the shield as Lois wrested herself from  
Sarah's grasp and rushed to her husband's side. She  
dropped to the ground beside him and cradled her head in  
her lap. "Clark, sweetheart talk to me. Are you okay?"  
Lois turned slightly to glare at Thomas. "Why did you do  
this?"  
  
"I'm sorry," Thomas said softly. "I didn't want to... He  
is the one."  
  
Sarah walked forward calmly and placed her hand on the El  
shield adorning Clark's chest. She scanned him quickly,  
using her training in healing physical ailments to assess  
her lord's condition. She straightened and glanced over at  
Thomas. "He's going to make it," she said before motioning  
to Thomas. "Come, we must tell the others."  
  
Thomas stood and walked over to Sarah. Slowly, they rose  
in the air and flew off, leaving Lois and Clark behind.  
Lois watched in astonishment for a moment before refocusing  
her attention on Clark.  
  
A few moments later as the pain receded to manageable  
levels, Clark opened his eyes. "Did I save him? Lois?  
Where'd they go?"  
  
Lois looked at Clark and pressed a gentle kiss to his  
cheek. "I'll tell you when we get inside, sweetheart."  
Lois stood up and grabbed Clark's hand as he rose to his  
feet. Hand in hand, they walked back inside their home.  
"I'll go check on the kids while you change," she said  
softly. Lois went upstairs and peeked in the children's  
rooms. Both Kiley and Joseph were still asleep, unbothered  
by the commotion in the backyard.  
  
Lois walked back downstairs and sat on the couch. Soon  
Clark joined her, so she snuggled into his side. Clark  
slipped his arm around his beloved and rested his hand on  
her stomach. "What happened?" he asked quietly.  
  
Lois quickly filled him in on the events of the evening,  
including the amazing fact that Sarah and Thomas had flown  
away. "You don't think that they're... Kryptonian too?"  
Lois asked.  
"I don't know." Clark said. A troubled look passed swiftly  
over his face. "The messages that Jor-El and Lara left for  
me seemed to indicate that I'm the only survivor... The  
last son of Krypton." Clark began to disentangle himself  
so he could get up when Lois stopped him with a gentle  
hand.  
  
"Sweetheart," she began, "the globe can wait until  
tomorrow." Lois stood up and tugged on his arm. "Come to  
bed. You need rest after that Kryptonite exposure."  
  
A smile tugged at the corners of Clark's mouth as he leaned  
down and placed a swift kiss on her lips. "Your wish is my  
command," he said as they walked toward the stairs.  
  
****  
****  
  
Lois rested her head on Clark's shoulder and turned her  
face up to his for a kiss as he pulled up the covers around  
them. It had been an extremely long day and she was  
thankful that Clark was okay after his encounter with the  
kryptonite shield. Clark put his arms around Lois and  
captured her lips with his. Before the kiss could  
escalate, Clark heard the sound of small footsteps. He  
broke off the kiss and turned his head to see Kiley  
standing in the doorway, clutching a battered black and  
white teddy bear.  
  
Kiley rubbed a hand across her eyes and wiped her nose on  
her Winnie-the-Pooh pajamas. "Mommy and Daddy," she began  
with a slight wobble in her voice, "Clarkie-bear and I had  
a bad dream. Can we sleep with you tonight?"  
  
Lois nodded and turned down the covers for Kiley. Kiley  
clambered into the big bed and climbed into Lois's lap.  
She buried her face in her mother's chest and sat there,  
trembling. Clark gathered his wife and daughter up and  
held them close. He gently stroked Kiley's hair. "What's  
the matter, punkin'?" he asked.  
  
Kiley looked up at her dad. "Daddy, don't go away," she  
pleaded.  
  
Lois rocked her daughter back and forth as she to, stroked  
her daughter's hair. "I'm not going anywhere sweetie."  
Clark said quietly. "Is this about your dream?"  
  
Kiley nodded and climbed off Lois's lap. Lois moved over  
slightly and tucked her daughter between herself and her  
husband. Kiley snuggled down in between her parents. Lois  
hugged Kiley and kissed her on the forehead. "What was the  
dream about sweetie?" Lois asked.  
  
Kiley yawned sleepily. Now that she was with her Mommy and  
Daddy, the fear was receding; she knew that she was  
completely safe. "Some people came and took Daddy away.  
And then he got hurt real bad." Kiley yawned again and  
cuddled closer to her parents.  
  
Clark gently kissed his daughter on the cheek.  
"Sweetheart," he began, "I'm right here. I'm not going  
away, and I'm not getting hurt."  
  
"I know Daddy," Kiley said sleepily, "I love you." Within  
minutes, Kiley was fast asleep.  
Clark reached out and caressed Lois's cheek. "I love you,"  
he said softly.  
  
"I love you too," Lois returned as she tucked the blankets  
securely around their daughter. Clark caught hold of  
Lois's hand and planted a kiss in the center of her palm.  
He caressed her hand with his thumb and soon they drifted  
off to sleep.  
  
****  
  
Clark woke to the sound of a woman screaming for help. He  
rolled over and looked at the clock: 3 am. Carefully, so  
as not to wake Lois or Kiley, he slid out of bed and spun  
into his suit. Clark dropped a kiss on Lois's forehead.  
"I'll be right back," he whispered softly. He flew out the  
window and sped to the scene of the crime. He stopped the  
would-be rapist and handed him over to the police. Just as  
he was about to head back home, he heard a voice in his  
head.  
  
Kal-El, come. We're at Thirty-Fifth and Maple Street.  
Go in the alley and await instructions. We're  
communicating with you telepathically, which is the way of  
the Kryptonian people.  
  
Clark wasn't too inclined to do as he was told, but after a  
few indecisive moments, his natural curiosity took over.  
He flew over to Thirty-Fifth and Maple. After looking  
around to make sure that no one was watching, he spun into  
his favorite jeans and his leather jacket; they were much  
more inconspicuous than the Suit. He walked over to the  
alleyway and entered it. Kal-El, go to the wall.  
Imagine an entryway, and it will appear.  
  
Puzzled, Clark walked over to the wall and pretended that a  
door was there. He put his hand up to the wall and was  
amazed to find that his hand passed through the wall. He  
went into the wall with trepidation and found himself in a  
curvilinear room. There were no straight lines to be seen  
anywhere around him. Bright, colorful tapestries adorned  
the walls and fluttered out to meet him as two darkly clad  
figures stepped through a pair of tapestries.  
  
"Welcome, Lord Kal-El." One of the figures stepped  
forward.  
  
"Sarah?" Clark gasped in recognition.  
  
"Zara," she corrected. "I am Lady Zara of the house of Ra  
and this is my bodyguard, Lieutenant Ching. You are Lord  
Kal-El, son of Jor-El and Lara. Your parents sent you here  
to protect you when our homeworld exploded."  
  
"But, I thought I was the only survivor," Clark said  
confusedly. "And my name is Clark."  
  
"Milord," Ching began, "A few thousand of the children of  
our world were saved--they were put on a colony ship and  
sent off to find a new place to live. We are from New  
Krypton."  
  
"But how did you find me, and why should I trust you  
anyway?" Clark questioned. "After all, you nearly killed  
me along with thousands of people in this city!"  
  
Zara picked up the thread. "There is a chip, a tracer  
device under the skin of your right arm. It is customary  
to insert such devices soon after birth... It is a remnant  
of an earlier time when the kidnapping of children of noble  
houses was considered a political gambit. We knew you  
arrived here from the electronic images sent to us by  
recording devices in the ship that brought you to this  
planet. They stopped sending images in your tenth cycle;  
the power source must have been exhausted."  
  
Clark frowned, remembering the device that he had  
discovered in the barn as a teenager. "So that's what that  
was," he murmured. "Why did you put me through such hell?"  
  
"We were ordered by the Council to find you. Not only to  
find you, but to test you to see if you are worthy of your  
heritage... And to find out if you care enough to leave  
here to save a world full of people you don't know," Ching  
grimaced. He knew that Kal-El had passed the tests, and he  
hoped that his leader would stay on Earth... where he  
belonged.  
  
"Kal-El, there is a tradition among noble houses. This  
tradition dates back thousands of years. Noble children  
are married at birth. Our people are bound together by an  
alliance between several families and these alliances are  
renewed by marriage in between these households. You are my  
husband. You must come back with us; the houses of Ra and  
El must be joined to prevent a civil war." Zara looked at  
Clark expectantly. His reaction, however, surprised her.  
  
"No," he whispered hoarsely. Clark ran out the door and  
flew home quickly. Clark flew into Joseph's room and  
picked up the sleeping child. He carried him into his and  
Lois's room and laid him next to Kiley on the bed. Clark  
changed into his sleep shorts and climbed back into bed.  
He knew that this was something that he *had* to discuss  
with Lois, but it would have to wait until morning. He  
cuddled close to his wife and children, suddenly terrified  
that he would lose them.  
  
Lois rolled over to face him. "Clar-," she murmured  
sleepily. "What'smatter?" Even through the haze of sleep  
that overshadowed her mind, she could feel his distress.  
  
"Nothing, honey." Clark said softly. "We'll talk about it  
tomorrow." He looked at his beloved again to find that she  
had already fallen asleep again. What should I do? he  
asked himself. He'd always felt contempt for men who  
abandoned their families and he was determined that he  
would not join the ranks of such men. Clark reached out  
and gently stroked Lois's hair. "No," he whispered, "I  
won't go with them." He loved her more than his own life;  
he could not leave her to raise their children alone.  
Satisfied that he had reached a decision for this moment,  
Clark went back to sleep.  
  
****  
  
Ching smiled ironically at Zara. "I told you he would not  
leave." Ching turned a chair around and straddled it.  
"When you report to the council, please remember to remind  
them that I was against this whole mission."  
  
Zara crossed the room to perch daintily on another chair.  
  
"He will come," she said resolutely. "I will simply appeal  
to his sense of duty and honor. It is his duty to come  
back with us and his honor is at stake here."  
  
"You don't really believe that?" Ching asked incredulously.  
"His duty and his honor lie here with his wife and his  
children."  
  
"But *I* am his wife!" Zara exclaimed.  
  
Ching sighed and shook his head. "By the laws of a society  
that Lord Kal-El has barely heard of, yes. From what he  
said, Jor-El's messages led him to believe that he was the  
only survivor. He grew up on Earth with Earth humans. He  
knows nothing of our society, language, or culture. Kal-  
El... Clark belongs here, not on New Krypton." Ching  
wondered if he could ever get Zara to listen to him. He  
knew he was right... They needed to leave Kal-El alone.  
  
Zara glared at Ching in exasperation. "He will come." She  
repeated again. "It will just take more convincing."  
  
Zara and Ching, you found him. You found Kal-El. And  
what's this? He doesn't want to return? Oh how wonderful.  
Too bad that as long as he lives he is a threat to me. I  
will just have to remedy that The mind voice faded from  
their heads with an evil laugh.  
  
Zara shuddered. "We will have to make sure that he  
returns..."  
****  
  
Tez landed in the Earth town known as Smallville, Kansas.  
He had seen some of the surveillance of this place and knew  
that he would have to find someone to imitate soon; in his  
current form, he simply stuck out far too much. He  
glanced down at his long, scraggly fingernails and knew  
that they would have to be the first thing to go. Although  
somewhat humanoid in appearance, Tez had the pointed  
canines of a carnivore, and he was built like the hunter  
and assassin he was made to be. His race was specifically  
designed for this purpose... to hunt down and kill those  
that their masters ordered them to. Kal-El would soon be  
his rightful prey. He glanced around the town before  
finding a communication device and looking up the name of  
Kal-El's adoptive parents. He grimaced as he noticed the  
address. Carefully, he shifted into a large predatory bird  
and flew over to the place of their habitation. He changed  
back into his natural form and headed into the domicile...  
  
****  
  
Lois woke slowly and smiled to see her husband sleeping  
peacefully beside her. She gently brushed his hair back  
from his face and slipped out of bed to check on the  
children. She padded down the hallway and checked Kiley's  
room. It was empty. Joseph's room was also unoccupied.  
Lois stood in the hallway wondering where the kids had  
gotten to at such an early hour. When she heard muffled  
giggles emanating from behind the bathroom door, she  
smiled, headed there, and opened the door.  
  
Joseph was standing on the step stool, playing in the potty  
while Kiley watched. The night before, the door to the  
bathroom had been shut, and Lois knew that the lid had been  
left down on the toilet also. Lois put her hands on her  
hips and stared at her daughter. "Kiley Christine Kent did  
you open the door for your brother and let him play in the  
potty?" Lois reached down, picked up Joseph, and took him  
over to the sink to wash. She was grateful that she had  
managed to stop him before he could spread water all over  
the bathroom.  
  
Kiley smiled innocently at her mother, mischief sparkling  
in her eyes. "Yes, Mommy. But you always say that I  
should help my little brother!"  
Lois closed her eyes for a minute to struggle with her  
self-control. She knew she could *not* give in to her  
desire to laugh. "Kiley," she said sternly, "Is Joseph  
allowed to play in the potty?"  
  
Kiley looked thoughtful for a moment. "No, Mommy, he's  
not."  
  
"Punkin', if Joseph isn't allowed to play in the potty, is  
it a good idea to help him do something he's not supposed  
to do?"  
  
"No, Mommy. I'm sorry. I won't do it again." Kiley  
looked properly penitent as she delivered this speech.  
  
"Kiley, sweetie, it's a good thing that you want to help  
your little brother, but please don't help him do things  
that he shouldn't!"  
  
"I promise, Mommy," Kiley said as Lois dried Joseph's hands  
off and hustled them out of the room.  
  
Clark emerged from the bedroom and took Joseph into his  
room to get him dressed. Lois took Kiley's hand as they  
walked toward her daughter's bedroom. As they picked out  
clothes and Kiley started pulling them on, Lois smiled.  
Her family. Her children. Her husband. She loved those  
words. It was strange to remember a time when she had not  
wanted any of the things that now filled her life. Lois  
leaned down and tied Kiley's shoes. She straightened up  
and grabbed the brush off the dresser.  
  
"Come here, punkin', so I can fix your hair." Kiley came  
over and obediently stood while Lois began to brush and  
braid her daughter's hair. She couldn't believe that only  
a few years ago, she hadn't been at all sure that she even  
wanted children. She didn't want to think of life without  
her family. Life without Clark, Kiley, and Joseph was too  
horrible to contemplate. Her life had been so empty before  
Clark flew into it and into her heart.  
  
Lois knew that without Clark and her babies, life would  
simply not be worth living.  
  
****  
  
Clark grabbed a pair of Joseph's overalls and a shirt out  
of the dresser. Before Clark could begin to try and get  
Joseph dressed, Joseph looked up at him imploringly.  
"Potty, Daddy." Joseph headed toward the door and waited  
for his dad to open it. Clark reached for Joseph's hand as  
he opened the door. Hand in hand, they walked into the  
bathroom where Clark put Joseph's special seat on the  
potty.  
  
Joseph climbed the ladder and was soon finished. Clark  
boosted Joseph up to wash his hands and carried him back  
into his room to dress. Clark grabbed the tiny shirt and  
began to try and pull it over his son's head. "I do!"  
Joseph demanded as he pulled out of Clark's grasp. Joseph  
shoved his head through the top of the shirt and pushed his  
arms through the sleeves, walked back over to his dad, and  
reached for the overalls. "Mine." he said. Clark smiled  
and steadied his son as Joseph climbed into the overalls.  
Clark fastened them up and pulled Joseph into his lap to  
put on socks and shoes. Quickly, Clark grabbed a comb and  
combed the child's hair before Joseph got a chance to  
escape.  
  
"Come on, scout," he said with a smile as he gently tickled  
Joseph's tummy. "Let's go downstairs to get some  
breakfast." Clark lifted Joseph onto his shoulders, went  
downstairs into the kitchen, and settled him in his seat at  
the table with a bowl of cereal and a sippy cup full of  
juice. Joseph smiled happily, all was right in his world.  
  
"Tank you, Daddy," he said as he began to eat.  
  
"You're welcome, scout," Clark said. He smiled and  
finished setting things out on the table for breakfast.  
Clark knew that he'd have to tell Lois about last night's  
encounter with Zara and Ching soon; he knew that she would  
*not* be happy about it. Heck, he wasn't overjoyed about  
it himself. As much as he wanted to learn about the world  
that birthed him, he didn't want to leave his family to do  
so. He'd tell her after they dropped the kids off, he  
decided. After all, this wasn't something that they should  
know yet.  
  
Lois walked into the kitchen with Kiley trailing behind  
her. As Kiley climbed into her chair, Lois walked over and  
put her arms around her sweetheart. "I love you." She  
murmured.  
  
"I love you too," Clark whispered back. "After we drop the  
kids off, we need to talk."  
  
Wordlessly, Lois reached up and tugged his head down to  
hers. She kissed him, letting him know that whatever he  
had to say, it would be all right. She remembered his  
distress when he came back to her the previous night and  
knew that whatever he had to talk about had something to do  
with what had happened. Lois broke off the kiss and  
touched her forehead to his before moving away to pour  
juice for Kiley.  
  
****  
  
Tez searched the Kent's residence quickly until he came  
across a large stack of books containing various pictures  
of Kal-El growing up. He had never seen this primitive  
form of portraiture before and he was fascinated by the  
flat, paper images that had the appearance of having three  
dimensions.  
  
Tez flipped through them quickly until he found the most  
recent photographs. He always had to know what his target  
looked like before he carried out his orders. Tez looked  
at the last photograph with puzzlement. It was a family  
portrait... Kal-El had *children*! Milord, I have just  
run into something... interesting. I will still carry out  
the mission of murdering Kal-El, but I thought you should  
know that he has *children*.  
  
Very good Tez! I have changed my mind... While you are  
an assassin, this time I want you to do something a bit  
different. Forget killing Kal-El. I have another  
assignment for you... One that will destroy Kal-El  
forever. An evil chuckle coming from his master  
resounded in Tez's head.  
  
A wicked smile stole over Tez's face as the Master filled  
him in on the new plan. Yes, Master... Tez broke off  
the connection, replaced the picture books, and left for  
Metropolis to carry out his assigned pleasure.  
  
****  
  
Lois and Clark dropped Joseph off at daycare and walked  
into the elevator. Clark stopped the elevator before it  
could reach the newsroom and told Lois about the meeting  
the night before. Lois stood silently, trying to take it  
all in as Clark re-started the elevator. When they  
arrived in the newsroom, Lois grabbed Clark's hand and  
began to pull him toward one of the conference rooms. Once  
there, Lois pushed her husband down into a chair. "Let me  
get this straight," she began, pacing back and forth in  
front of him. "Sarah, from research, is really this  
Krypton babe, who has some big plans for you?" At Clark's  
nod, Lois continued. "So, who is she? Some sort of  
relation? Your cousin, a sister?" she asked hopefully.  
  
Clark ran his hand through his hair in a nervous gesture  
that Lois had come to know well. She knew that it meant  
that he had something to tell her... and she wouldn't like  
it one bit. "Well, no, apparently... she's my... wife."  
  
Lois stared at him in shock. "Your *wife*?"  
  
"On Krypton," Clark clarified.  
  
"Oh!" Lois began, using the syrupy-sweet tone of voice that  
meant trouble for *someone*. "Well, we're not on Krypton!"  
Lois laughed. Her laugh sounded brittle, telling Clark  
without words how much this new complication hurt her.  
His heart ached as he stood up and pulled her into his  
arms.  
  
"Lois," he began quietly, "It's a thing they do. They  
marry you when you're a baby if you're... of noble blood."  
  
Lois slowly pulled away from her beloved so she could see  
his face. Clark's whole posture was one of embarrassment  
and the longer she looked at him, the redder he became.  
She knew that he was as uncomfortable about this as she  
was... and that he wouldn't be telling her this if it  
weren't important. "Noble blood," she repeated, trying to  
understand.  
  
"Apparently, I'm Lord Kal-El," Clark said uncomfortably,  
"of the House of El."  
  
"Uh-huh," Lois paused and searched her husband's face  
before continuing. "And Miss Krypton..."  
  
"Zara," Clark supplied  
  
"...is of course, a big-wig too." She finished.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"No she's not," Lois said dismissively. "She's a whacko!  
Clark! You don't actually believe any of this!"  
  
"Lois, I was on their spacecraft. *You* saw them fly! You  
tell me!" Agitated, Clark ran his hand through his hair  
again.  
  
"Oh yeah, well, you're right, there was the flying, wasn't  
there," Lois said worriedly.  
  
Clark gently put his arms around Lois, and gave her what  
comfort he could. "Lois, I'm as blown away by this as you  
are. I mean, to find out one night that there are living  
Kryptonians, I've got another wife out there, and there  
might be a civil war..."  
  
"Civil War? What?" Lois asked.  
  
"That's what happens in their society if the ruling  
families fall apart," Clark explained.  
  
"I just don't see what this has to do with you...with us,"  
Lois said.  
  
"That's why they're here," Clark said quietly, "They expect  
me to go back with Zara and rule over New Krypton."  
  
Lois stared at Clark in shock. As her eyes began to fill  
with tears, Clark moved forward and gathered her into his  
arms. "Shhh. Baby, it's okay." Clark leaned down and  
kissed her gently. "I told them no; I won't leave you and  
our kids."  
  
Lois looked up at her Clark. "I know," she said quietly.  
"I know that you won't leave us." Clark tightened his arms  
around his beloved and laid his cheek against her hair. He  
knew that the New Kryptonians would probably try to  
convince him to leave... But he couldn't. If they had come  
ten years ago, it might have been possible. His life was  
different now and his place was on Earth with his wife and  
their children. Clark inclined his head towards Lois's and  
captured her lips with his. Somehow, he would convince the  
interlopers to leave them alone.  
  
****  
  
Tez poked around the den inside the Kent's brownstone. He  
needed information, fast. He could not fulfill his  
contract without the proper information. It had been easy  
enough to gain entry to the residence-the occupants had  
kindly left a window open for him to fly through. Tez  
rifled through the papers on the desk until he found  
precisely what he was looking for. This afternoon would be  
the perfect time to act upon his Master's orders...  
  
****  
Lois took Clark's hand as they walked out of the Conference  
room and into the newsroom. "I'm not going with them,"  
Clark reiterated.  
  
"Good," Lois growled. "Us wacky Earth women, well, we get  
mighty cranky about losing our husbands!"  
  
Clark leaned over and kissed her gently. "You're not going  
to lose me," Clark said quietly. "Not now, not *ever* if I  
can help it. Sure, I'd like to learn about my heritage,  
but not at the expense of our family. My home is here...  
where you, Kiley, Joseph, and our new little one are."  
  
Lois released his hand and slid her arms around his waist.  
"I'm glad you don't want to go haring across the galaxy on  
some wild goose chase to court loneliness, violence, and  
possible death on some space rock... Am I missing the big  
picture here?"  
  
Clark grabbed Lois's hand and dropped a kiss into the  
center of her palm. "Lois, don't worry. I know where my  
home is, and I know who I am. There's no confusion about  
that, okay?" Before Clark could continue, he heard the  
voice in his head speaking again. Kal-El, we need very  
much to see you. We're coming to the Planet.  
  
Lois watched Clark as his face took on his familiar  
'listening' expression. "What's the matter, sweetheart?"  
  
"It's Zara and Ching," he said with a grimace, "They're  
calling me telepathically. Kryptonians can speak to each  
other like that. They're coming to the Planet."  
  
"Great. Just great." she said grimly as she settled in to  
wait.  
  
**** 


	3. The Plea

Disclaimers on part 1  
  
****  
Clark hugged Lois gently and brought his hand to rest  
protectively on her gravid belly. He watched the other  
Kryptonians warily; he knew that they wanted to take him  
away from his precious family.  
  
Lois brought her hand up to rest on Clark's before  
speaking. "So, Sarah," Lois began casually, "Um, Zara.  
All this time I thought you were just this shy, awkward  
girl working in research." Clark sensing his wife's need to  
pace, carefully released her. He maintained his protective  
stance, telling Zara and Ching through body language how  
important Lois and the child she carried were to him.  
  
"Yes," Zara stated.  
  
Lois began speaking in the syrupy sweet tone that Clark  
knew signified that Mad Dog Lane would soon be coming out  
to play. "I used to tease Clark that you might have a  
little crush on him. Didn't I Clark?" Lois glanced at her  
husband for confirmation before continuing. "And he'd say,  
'Oh, Lois, you're being silly,' and then we'd laugh." Lois  
giggled nervously. She knew that Clark would again refuse  
to accompany these strangers, but somehow she still had a  
bit of trepidation about their presence. "That was before  
we realized that you were, of course, married to him." Lois  
finished flatly.  
  
"So, Kal-El has told you," Zara commented.  
  
"Oh yes," Lois said with a sweet smile adorning her face.  
"I'm his *wife*; he told me everything. Not  
telepathically, of course. The old fashioned way...  
talking of course."  
"And Ching," Lois said shooting a sharp glance at him, "You  
are..."  
  
"Lieutenant, bodyguard, and defender to the death of Lady  
Zara," Ching said quietly. He was becoming more and more  
uncomfortable with this whole situation. He had never  
wanted to take Kal-El away from Earth in the first place...  
and Kal-El's wife had every reason to be upset.  
  
"Uh-huh," Lois said. "Well, listen. See, I know what you  
want from Clark, and frankly, I think you've got a lot of  
nerve." She looked expectantly at Ching, waiting to see  
some sort of response.  
  
Ching looked down and scuffed his toe against the floor.  
"I never wanted to do any of this," he muttered. Lois  
looked at Ching in shock. She'd suspected that he was  
somehow on their side, but this was the first time her  
suspicions had been confirmed--his last words had been just  
loud enough to hear clearly.  
  
"What Clark doesn't realize is the urgency of our plight,"  
Zara interrupted Lois's thoughts. "Lord Nor is closing in  
on us."  
  
"Who is Lord Nor?" Clark asked.  
  
Zara looked at Clark for a second, as if she expected him  
to know of the threat Lord Nor posed to her world. "Next  
in line for my hand, should you annul our union," she  
explained.  
  
"Oh, well that's good!" Lois exclaimed enthusiastically.  
"Then the trip's not a total loss!"  
  
Ching smiled sadly. "Nor is a monster, a soulless brigand  
who would joyfully enslave all who oppose him."  
  
"Marriage to me would ensure his reign, and he would do  
anything to achieve that." Zara said, looking a bit  
desperate.  
  
"He's already dispatched an assassin to dispose of his  
problem," Ching said quietly.  
  
"His problem being?" Clark asked.  
  
Ching looked at his Lord and Master sadly. "You."  
  
"Does this assassin have powers like you and Clark?" Lois  
asked.  
  
Ching grimaced. "No, he's not Kryptonian. On the other  
hand, he has never failed."  
  
"You can see how desperate Nor is," Zara stated quietly,  
"and why it is imperative that we return quickly."  
  
"Wait a minute," Clark interrupted. "You're asking us to  
trust you... How do you know that you're not agents of this  
Lord Nor yourself? Besides, didn't I tell you that I won't  
go?"  
  
"Yeah," Lois chimed in. "It's not exactly like you've been  
the souls of honesty, you know! Why should *my* husband  
and I believe anything you say? Good, Clark!" A pleased  
smile spread over Lois's face as she turned to Clark. She  
moved closer to him and he put his arms around her, holding  
her close.  
  
Zara looked at the happy couple consideringly. She still  
hated the fact that *her* Kal-El was in the arms of an  
Earth woman, but that would soon be remedied when she got  
him away from Earth. Due to the records that Jor-El left  
behind, she was in possession of some knowledge that Kal-El  
currently did not have... Knowledge that would prove that  
this time, she was telling him the truth. "Do you have the  
craft that you first journeyed to Earth in?" she asked.  
  
Lois and Clark exchanged a glance. They had managed to  
obtain possession of Clark's spaceship a few years back.  
It was now carefully hidden behind a false wall in the  
basement of their brownstone. "I know where to get it,"  
Clark answered quietly.  
  
Zara nodded sharply. "Good. Then go retrieve it. We'll  
meet you back at our vessel."  
  
Lois and Clark watched silently as Zara and Ching left the  
Conference Room. Clark glanced at his watch and noted the  
time. "We need to pick up Kiley before we get my ship," he  
said quietly.  
  
Lois looked at him and nodded. "Sweetheart, it's okay,"  
she said reassuringly. She knew the expression he now wore  
on his face. He was obsessing again. She knew that she  
could ease the obsession soon enough, but they had to get  
Kiley from preschool and drop her off at daycare first.  
  
****  
  
Tez lurked around the Daily Planet building. He had looked  
up when the Kent's oldest child got out of preschool; he  
still had time to wait for his targets to bring the older  
child to him. It was only a matter of time before he could  
fulfill his Master's wishes. Until then, all he could do  
was to lurk unnoticed in the background. Tez changed his  
guise into that of an old bag lady and tottered across the  
street to settle on one of the benches and wait for his  
prey to appear.  
  
****  
Clark stood in Zara's and Ching's spaceship with his arm  
around Lois's waist. He was determined not to leave Earth;  
no matter what Zara and Ching had to show him. He needed  
his wife's physical closeness... in a strange sort of way,  
part of him wanted to help these people, but with Lois by  
his side, he knew that he had made the right decision.  
Together, Lois and Clark moved closer to the tiny ship that  
Clark had retrieved from their basement.  
  
Zara and Ching stood close by, examining the by now  
obsolete little craft that had brought their Lord to Earth.  
"I'm surprised, Kal-El, that you have chosen to share the  
location of our vessel with an outsider," Zara said  
frostily. She had wanted to share this with Kal-El in  
privacy, away from the Earthling he had married. After  
all, Kal-El was hers by law... and she intended to claim  
what was hers. She had hoped that showing him the evidence  
aboard the ship would help to create a bond between them;  
she knew of Kal-El's thirst for knowledge of his homeland.  
  
"Lois is not an outsider," Clark stated quietly, "Lois is  
my wife and I share everything with her." Clark kissed  
Lois softly. He knew that he was probably kissing her for  
the wrong reasons; he wanted to prove to these interlopers  
that for him, leaving was simply not an option... He  
needed his wife with him, not halfway across the universe.  
  
Ching stood in the background, watching the play before  
him. He knew that Kal-El did not wish to leave... and that  
it would take drastic action to convince him to do so.  
Ching had seen into Clark's heart and knew of the depth of  
emotion and commitment he had with his Lois. Ching bit the  
inside of his cheek thoughtfully as he contemplated the  
scene in front of him, and again wished that he might find  
someone to love him the way Lois loved her Clark. While  
I'm at it, he thought bitterly, I might as well wish that  
Zara would give me more notice than a piece of tapestry.  
  
Zara looked at Lois and Clark curiously. "And don't you  
find this constant intimacy draining?" she asked. In many  
ways she, too, envied them. She wanted that kind of  
relationship for herself... with Kal-El.  
  
Lois and Clark exchanged a glance. "No," they said  
simultaneously with conviction. They were sure in the  
knowledge of their commitment to each other. After all,  
their sixth wedding anniversary was the next Sunday, and  
they'd been best friends, partners, and finally dated in  
the three years before that.  
  
Zara stared at the couple for another few minutes before  
asking, "Kal-El...Clark, can you read these symbols?" She  
ran her hand over the writing impressed upon the body of  
the ship.  
  
Clark looked at her in puzzlement. "No. They look kind of  
like a cross between Russian and Arabic... are they  
Kryptonian?"  
  
Zara flashed a brief smile at him and began to read the  
letters. "'Behold Kal-El the Noble of Krypton, born from  
the House of Lo and into the House of El.' The symbols go  
on to direct Kal... Clark... to place his hand alongside  
the hand of Zara from the House of Ra." Zara reached out  
and put her hand into a geometric shaped depression on the  
front of the ship.  
  
Slowly, ever so slowly, without releasing his hold on Lois,  
Clark put his left hand in the other depression on the face  
of the ship. When both of their hands were in place, the  
'S' shield upon the front of the ship lit up and a hologram  
issued forth from it. Clark started in surprise; it was  
the same man whose hologram had been projected from his  
globe.  
  
A familiar voice issued from the hologram. "I am Jor-El,  
the father of Kal-El." For a brief moment, Clark  
considered removing his hand from the ship, however, the  
hologram had only activated when he had touched it, so he  
let his hand rest where it was.  
  
The hologram continued to speak. "If I am being seen it  
means that both Kal-El and his birthwife, Zara, are alive  
and together, for only your unified touch can activate this  
image... just as only your unified lives will keep strong  
the dream of a peaceful Krypton. My son, I do not know if  
you will ever see this message, but remember this: your  
mother and I love you. We only wish for you to uphold the  
traditions and values of our people. My voice reaches  
across the galaxies, calling upon my son to keep alive the  
watchfires of his people, bringing them from the darkness  
of chaos and into the light of peace." The hologram turned  
his gaze upon Clark before continuing. "My dear son, that  
is my legacy, that is your destiny."  
  
The hologram smiled as it gazed upon Clark. "Kal-El, my  
dear child, I know not how old you are or who you have  
become. Take up your destiny; be the standard bearer for  
our people so that they might not wander in the darkness of  
uncertainty." Suddenly, the hologram cut off with a jolt of  
static, leaving the foursome alone in silence.  
  
Clark removed his hand from the ship and stared off into  
space for a moment before turning to Zara and Ching. "This  
changes nothing," he said firmly. "This is my home. I  
have a family to take care of. I have responsibilities  
here and I will not leave them."  
  
Lois covered his hand with hers, silently giving him the  
reassurance and support he needed. She knew her husband as  
well as she knew herself and she could feel the turmoil  
within him. Lois knew that sooner or later, when he was  
ready, Clark would tell her what was bothering him... they  
had long since stopped keeping secrets from one another.  
She also knew that such things were often better said in  
privacy; without the audience that currently watched them.  
  
Zara stared at the couple for a moment, thinking furiously.  
"We will give you some time to think this over," she said  
quietly. "Ching." Zara gestured to her bodyguard and  
walked behind some of the tapestries.  
  
****  
  
Tez shifted forms into the semblance of Kal-El and walked  
into the Daily Planet's childcare center. "Hello,"  
Tez/Clark began, "I'm here to pick up my kids." Tez did  
his best to act as Kal-El would, but he must have somehow  
slipped... the woman behind the counter gave him a strange  
look before she silently walked into the room where Kal-  
El's children were playing.  
  
Kiley was puzzled. It was far too early for her Daddy to  
be there, yet Ms. Linda said that he was waiting for them.  
Kiley frowned. There must be something wrong. Daddy never  
came this early... Ms. Linda held out her hand to Kiley  
and Kiley gave her a measuring glance before taking it.  
Kiley walked out of the room with Joseph and Ms. Linda  
determined to figure out exactly what the problem was.  
  
Tez watched as the woman walked over to Kal-El's children  
and spoke to them. She gently took their hands and led the  
kids out to the waiting room. The little boy took one look  
at him and began to cry.  
  
"What's the matter, sweetie?" Ms. Linda asked.  
  
Joseph glanced at Tez again before answering. "He not  
Daddy." Joseph said stuffily. "*Not Daddy*! Jo'eph want  
Daddy."  
  
Tez looked at the little boy in horror. How could he  
know? Tez wondered.  
  
Kiley looked at Tez for a moment before chiming in.  
"Joseph is right. That's not Daddy." She had known  
something was wrong from the start... Whoever the man in  
front of them was, it was definitely not her daddy; he  
simply 'Felt' wrong.  
  
Ms. Linda picked Joseph up, clutched Kiley's hand to her  
side tightly, and began to back toward the safety of the  
playroom. There was a phone with a direct line to the  
Planet's security guards inside as well as a deadbolt on  
the door. They had put such measures in place last year  
after a kidnapping attempt on one of the international news  
reporter's children. Before she could reach the door  
however, the strange man had disappeared. Soon, after  
notifying the authorities of the aborted kidnapping  
attempt, Ms. Linda had comforted Joseph and the children  
were again playing happily. However, one difference was to  
be noted... Kiley stayed protectively by her brother's  
side.  
  
****  
  
All was silent in the Kent household that night. The  
children were safely in dreamland while Lois slept  
encircled in Clark's strong arms. Both the authorities and  
their children had informed Lois and Clark of the  
kidnapping attempt, but they didn't think that they really  
had to worry... at least when they were safe in their own  
home. Both of them knew that the kidnapping attempt could  
very well be linked to the assassin Lord Nor had sent after  
Clark, but they simply had no proof. With the children  
tucked securely in their beds, and all of the doors and  
windows locked, the couple thought it was unlikely that any  
other attempts would be made. As an added protection,  
Clark's superhearing would pick up any break-ins, so they  
felt doubly safe.  
  
Tez flew through the night to the Kent's residence wearing  
the shape of an owl. There are advantages to this form,  
he thought. I should use it on my next assignment when I  
need to be silent. After noting that the occupants of the  
house were sleeping soundly, Tez gained access to Kal-El's  
children by flying down through the chimney and up the  
stairs. He flew silently into Kiley's room, shed his owl  
shape for his natural form, and injected the little girl  
with just enough sedative to ensure that she would not  
wake. He picked her up and took her with him as he slid  
soundlessly down the hallway to get Joseph. Within  
minutes, Tez walked out of the house with a sleeping child  
under each arm. He took them to his ship, which he had  
hidden close by, and carefully set them down in a  
containment area. Tez checked his chronometer... it was  
much too late to contact his master; it would have to wait  
until the next day.  
  
****  
  
Kal-El. Wake up.  
  
Clark woke with Zara's voice echoing in his head.  
What? he asked groggily, relying entirely on instinct  
to answer her.  
  
Come to the park. There are things we must discuss.  
  
Clark groaned, pulled his pillow over his head as if to  
block out the sound, and snuggled closer to Lois. Lemme  
alone. Am busy.  
  
Kal-El, come *now* or I'll start yelling for Superman!  
  
Clark sighed. If she started yelling for Superman, he'd  
have to go anyway; for all he knew she really could be in  
trouble. Give me a few minutes and I'll be there. he  
sent before halfheartedly dragging himself out of bed.  
Clark looked at the clock and winced. It was 5:30 in the  
morning. He wrote a note for Lois to let her know where to  
find him before pulling on jeans, a flannel shirt, and his  
favorite leather jacket. It was far too early for her to  
be up, so he decided to let her sleep, and it wouldn't be  
time to wake the children up for another hour and a half.  
Clark unlocked the window flew out, relying on superspeed  
to keep from being seen. Within seconds, he landed in the  
park.  
  
I'm over by the fountain. Zara's mind voice said.  
  
Clark walked over to the fountain and found her on the far  
side. He had fond memories of the fountain; it was where  
he had proposed to Lois... And later where she had proposed  
to him.  
  
"Kal-El," Zara's voice cut off the stream of memories that  
threatened to overwhelm him.  
  
"Yes?" he answered. "Coming here doesn't mean that I've  
changed my mind. I'm staying here on Earth where I  
belong." Clark glanced at Zara and shoved his hands in his  
pockets. "I love Lois. I love our children and our life  
together. I'm not leaving her. The feelings I have for  
her and our family are the greatest gift that anyone can  
receive! My feelings for my wife are the most wonderful  
things in the universe."  
  
"And they're selfish, certainly for people born of noble  
blood," Zara rejoined.  
  
Clark gave her a long look and again attempted to explain.  
"This thing I have with Lois, it's the kind of thing you  
grab on to, and you never, ever let go of, because it's one  
of the few perfect things in this world, and I value it  
above all else. Above my own life. Zara, I've told you  
that I can't go with you and I mean it." Zara simply  
stared at him for a few moments. "Did you hear what I  
said?" Clark asked.  
  
"Yes, Kal-El, I heard your words," Zara said, a tiny smile  
flitting across her face. "But I also know your thoughts.  
Part of you wants to go with me so that the thousands of  
surviving Kryptonians will not perish. You really haven't  
truly made up your mind at all."  
  
Clark sighed heavily and burrowed his hands further into  
his pockets. "I need to go," he said finally. Clark took  
off and flew quickly home.  
  
****  
  
Tez closed his eyes and reached out to feel the mind-  
presence of his master. Milord, he called out and  
waited for an answer.  
  
Tez, *report*! The voice of Lord Nor came through loud  
and clear.  
  
I have the children of Kal-El. Tez answered. What  
would you have me do with them milord?  
Kill them, of course came the bored reply. Not right  
away; wait until Kal-El is there to watch. Then dispose of  
him for me. Until then, keep them sedated... We can't have  
them escaping and finding their parents now can we? An  
evil laugh echoed through Tez's head.  
  
Tez smiled, this job was getting better by the moment.  
My pleasure, milord Tez replied. He needed to find a  
way to lure Kal-El to his ship. From there it would be  
simple enough to obey his master's wishes.  
  
****  
  
Lois woke slowly. She was still a bit tired from the  
previous day's exertions... and Clark, her hot water  
bottle, was missing. It didn't take long for Lois to  
spot the note on the dresser.  
  
"Dear Lois," it read.  
  
"I have to go meet Zara to convince her that I'm staying  
here with you and our family. I'll be back soon. I love  
you.  
  
Yours forever,  
  
Clark"  
  
Lois smiled as she set the note down. She grabbed her  
husband's robe and pulled it on quickly. It was a bit  
chilly in the house and she loved the way his robe smelled  
of him. She made her way to Joseph's room to wake him up.  
She stuck her head through the doorway, waiting for the  
familiar sight of her little one fast asleep. She wasn't  
surprised to discover that he wasn't in his crib.  
Mentally, Lois shrugged. Since Joseph had learned how to  
get out of his crib, it wasn't unusual to find him playing  
in his sister's room early in the morning. Clark had  
intended upon converting the crib into a toddler bed this  
week, but because of recent events, he had not yet found  
the time to disassemble it and then reassemble it in its  
new form.  
  
Lois walked down the hall and peeked into Kiley's room. It  
was empty. There's no reason to panic she thought to  
herself. Lois walked to the bathroom and checked in there.  
Soon, she began to search the house, looking for signs that  
her kids were there. Nothing. Panic filled her heart as  
she realized that Kiley and Joseph were not in the house.  
She remembered the kidnapping attempt of the previous day  
with a shudder. It was obvious what had happened; her  
babies had been stolen! Lois fell to her knees in shock and  
horror. "*Clark*!" she yelled.  
  
Within seconds, Clark burst into the house and landed next  
to her. "What's the matter, honey?" he asked, a worried  
look on his face.  
  
"Kiley and Joseph are... gone," Lois said with tears  
welling up in her eyes. She drew in a shaky breath, "I've  
looked everywhere; they're not here!"  
  
Clark reached out his hand and helped Lois up. "I'll look  
for them," he said softly. "You call the police, ok?"  
Clark took a deep breath and began to carefully x-ray the  
house as Lois made her way to the phone. Clark looked at  
Lois, his eyes haunted by the fact that he had found  
nothing.  
  
"They're not here." Clark said, fighting to control his  
emotions. His children had been kidnapped and he,  
Superman, had been unable to prevent it. Clark felt an  
enormous weight of guilt pressing down on him; his  
children, above all, should be safe from the kind of person  
who would snatch them from their beds. He should have been  
able to stop it; he should have been aware of it as it  
happened.  
  
But, for the sake of their children, he couldn't afford to  
give into the luxury of his guilt; he had to concentrate.  
He locked away the guilt and pain in the back of his mind  
and heart. He knew he would pay for it later, but now was  
the time to find their babies. He took a deep breath to  
calm himself. "After the police get here, I'm going to  
locate Kiley and Joseph and bring them home." Clark strode  
over to Lois and put his arms around her. Lois burrowed  
her face into his neck; each of them took comfort in the  
other's presence. Together, they would find the kidnapper,  
put him in jail, and reunite with their little ones.  
  
It didn't take long for the police to arrive; because of  
the attempt the previous day, they had been on alert.  
Inspector Henderson was the first on the scene. Lois and  
Clark were almost celebrities in Metropolis, and he didn't  
want to see anything happen to their children. Kiley and  
Joseph were adorable... they made him think of his own kids  
at that age. He knew that he would have been frantic if he  
had awakened one morning to find them missing... and Lois  
and Clark probably felt the same way. With all of the  
criminals that Lois and Clark had brought to justice over  
the years, it was very likely that the children were in  
serious danger. Because of their connection to Superman,  
it was also probable that Kiley and Joseph were hidden in a  
place that was soundproofed and shielded by lead.  
  
Henderson interviewed the couple quickly. There were very  
few people in Metropolis who could pull this kind of job.  
After all, the kidnapper had entered a locked house, stolen  
two small children, and gotten out without leaving  
fingerprints, waking anyone up, or leaving any other kinds  
of evidence. It was the rare cat burglar who could do such  
a thing. "Lois, Clark, we'll do our best to find them," he  
said gently. "We'll put a tap on your phone in case of a  
ransom demand, and we need to have one of you stay here at  
all times just in case the perpetrator calls." After Lois  
volunteered to stay and keep an eye on the phone, Henderson  
bid the couple farewell and vowed to himself that he would  
pull as many strings as he could to make sure that the Kent  
children were returned home safely.  
  
With shaking fingers, Lois picked up the phone and called  
Perry to let him know what had transpired. "Perry," she  
said, her voice audibly trembling. "Kiley and Joseph have  
been... kidnapped. Clark and I won't be coming in today  
okay?"  
  
"Great shades of Elvis!" Perry said sounding concerned.  
"Lois, darlin' don't worry about working today. We'll run  
a story on the front page in this afternoon's edition to  
help try to find the kids. The Planet takes care of its  
own. You concentrate on finding those kids of yours okay?"  
  
Lois shakily answered him before hanging up the phone.  
Clark kissed her quickly and whispered that he was going to  
find the children before quietly exiting the house. Lois  
collapsed onto the couch and put her arms around her legs  
as she watched the uniformed cops dust for prints. If the  
assassin that Lord Nor sent was responsible for this, she  
doubted that they would find any strange prints. Lois  
frowned, when Clark found him, this guy would pay. *No  
one* kidnapped Lois Lane's babies and got away with it.  
Lois settled in for the long haul. She hated waiting more  
than anything, but in case the kidnapper called with a  
ransom demand, she had to sit by the phone and wait.  
  
****  
  
Clark, as Superman, flew slowly over the city, x-raying  
every inch of it. He had to find Kiley and Joseph before  
something worse happened to them. He forced himself not to  
remember the number of kidnappings in recent years that had  
ended with the death of the child. Clark carefully  
concentrated on the waterfront district; there were a  
number of abandoned warehouses there that would be ideal to  
hide two small children in. Some of the insides of the  
warehouses were covered in layer after layer of old lead-  
based paint. These he had to search on foot. As he picked  
yet another lock, he was thankful that Lois had taught him  
the finer points of breaking and entering some years ago.  
Finding nothing, Clark again took off and began to search  
another section of the city.  
  
****  
  
Kiley opened her eyes slowly, aware that wherever she was,  
it was definitely not her house. Without lifting her head,  
she noted that she was in a large white bubble-like room,  
and her little brother lay beside her. She shivered a bit;  
the room was cold and she was only wearing her pajamas.  
Kiley hugged Clarkie-bear closer to her; thankful that he  
had somehow been brought along to provide her with much-  
needed comfort in this alien environment. She remembered  
all of the stories about her mother's frequent kidnappings;  
so she knew precisely how to get herself and her brother  
out of the kidnapper's clutches. However, from the stories  
she had heard from Grandpa Perry, Kiley realized that if  
she could get a good look at whoever had snatched her and  
Joseph, the police would take him to jail. Patiently, she  
moved closer to Joseph, snuggling up to his still sleeping  
form to await their captor.  
  
****  
  
Perry paced back and forth in his office. He loved those  
kids. Lois and Clark were like his children; and their  
little ones had been his surrogate grandchildren since the  
day they were born. He had been delighted when they had  
begun to call him 'Grandpa Perry' just as Alice loved it  
when they called her 'Grandma Alice'. Their own children  
and grandchildren lived so far away that it was wonderful  
to have 'family' close to them. He would do everything he  
could to ensure *his* grandchildren's safe return. Perry  
stopped pacing and picked up the phone to call in some  
favors.  
  
****  
  
Tez paced back in forth in the other room of his ship. He  
knew he had to check to make sure that his captives were  
still asleep soon, but he didn't relish the thought. His  
contract made sure that he obeyed his Master's orders, but  
he was an assassin, born and bred for the purpose. It went  
against every instinct in him to keep captives alive; he  
wanted to kill. The sweetness of the hunt was over--he had  
his prey, but he was forbidden to do as his instincts  
demanded. Kal-El's children were his rightful victims...  
and their parents would be left behind to grieve. The  
grief of the loved ones left behind was as important as the  
kill itself; his kind fed on the fear of their victims as  
well as the grief of those left behind. The grief of a  
parent for a lost child was the most delicious of all. Tez  
licked his lips in anticipation; he was hungry and it was a  
long time since he had fed on such emotions.  
  
Tez ran a long, finger-talon down the side of his face, and  
decided that he had to check on his victims. He carefully  
opened the door and stepped inside. Tez examined the  
children from a distance--they were still sleeping, and  
from the look of things, they would be for quite sometime.  
He returned to the other room, shutting and locking the  
door behind him with a palm print. Swiftly, he changed  
forms and flew to the residence from which he had stolen  
Kal-El's children the night before.  
  
He examined it carefully, looking for any sign of the blue-  
coated men called 'police'. There were men like them on  
every planet, men who would stop him from carrying out his  
assigned pleasure. Every job he took, he always made sure  
to find out what these men looked like; to be caught would  
be to fail... and he knew the penalty for those of his  
species that failed. Tez snuck silently into the house,  
looking for Kal-El or his mate. He soon found the woman  
sitting on the couch. He looked at her and smiled evilly.  
  
"I shall enjoy killing them," he said in a thin whispery  
voice that sent chills up Lois's spine. "Kal-El is strong,  
those with the strength to resist only die more slowly. I  
watch the fear in their eyes, as the last flicker of life  
goes dark. The terror of your children will be even more  
enjoyable as their life force trickles from them. I will  
savor it as I now savor the fear I see in your eyes."  
  
"I'm not afraid of you," Lois growled. She stood up  
suddenly and moved closer to him, prepared to hurt this  
creature who had taken her babies.  
  
"You stupid creature! I can feel your fear. But it's not  
you I want. You must be left behind to grieve." Tez ran  
one of his finger talons down her cheek before continuing.  
"What is the use of killing without a griever?" Tez  
chortled wheezily, the air rattling in his lungs.  
  
Lois glared at the assassin, "You be afraid," she said,  
"you have no idea what you're up against."  
  
Tez laughed again before shifting into the shape of a  
swallow and flying out the open window.  
  
****  
  
Lois collapsed on the couch, shivering. She picked up the  
phone and enabled the 'follow me' function to forward all  
of the calls to the house to her cell phone before grabbing  
her coat and heading out. Within minutes, she entered Zara  
and Ching's spaceship. She found Zara sitting at the  
table, with an open book in front of her. Lois put a hand  
on Zara's arm to get her attention. "I just want you to  
leave," she said quietly. I want you to go away and leave  
us alone, so this person will have no reason to kill Clark,  
Kiley, and Joseph. I'm begging you!" she finished  
tearfully.  
  
"I can't go," Zara rejoined, "Lois, there are too many  
lives at stake," Zara looked at Lois with a smile. "I've  
been trained to rule; in the grand scheme of things, one  
family isn't as important as a whole civilization. I am  
here to bring Kal-El back to save my people; the lives of  
my people hang on his decision."  
  
"What about Clark's life? What about my life? What about  
our *children's* lives?"  
  
"If Kal-El does not return, Lord Nor will seize power,  
which will divide all of the ruling houses in the hold that  
they have over the people. Riots will be followed by mass  
murders, followed by civil war." Zara said seriously.  
  
Lois had no doubts that Zara was telling her the truth; her  
years of experience as a reporter told her that. However,  
there was one thing she desperately needed to know. "Do  
you love Clark?" She asked.  
  
"This was never a question of love," Zara began. "What I'm  
talking about is more important than two people's love;  
it's more important than one family."  
  
"I've always thought that love and family were the most  
important things there are," Lois said quietly.  
  
"I know how much you love Clark, and what he feels for you  
and your children. I wish that Clark could stay here  
forever, but Kal-El cannot." Zara favored Lois with a  
serious look. Inside however, she knew that she probably  
shouldn't be lying to Lois. She simply couldn't let her  
know of her plans to steal Kal-El away... this woman of  
Earth would be yesterday's news when they got to New  
Krypton. Kal-El had been exclusively hers since birth and  
she would not let him stay with his wife and half-breed  
children. He belonged on New Krypton...with her.  
  
"You're asking Kiley, Joseph, and I to sacrifice  
everything...for a world we'll never see," Lois said.  
  
"I'm asking you to save an entire world," Zara corrected  
gently.  
  
Unable to bear another moment in Zara's presence, Lois  
fled, returning home again to wait by the phone for the  
call that would tell her of her children's safe return.  
  
****  
  
Clark sat on the park bench and wearily rested his head in  
his hands. It was nearing dark, and he had spent the  
entire day searching the city for Kiley and Joseph. More  
than anything, he wanted to hold his children in his arms.  
Wherever they were, they were probably cold, hungry, and  
frightened. He wanted to give his babies the assurance  
that they were safe; he swore that he would never let  
anyone take them from him ever again. He would keep his  
family safe if it killed him; he couldn't stand the thought  
of any of them hurt or scared.  
  
Clark pushed his glasses up far enough to rub at his aching  
eyes. He was invulnerable, but twelve hours of using his  
x-ray vision was enough to make his head and eyes hurt. He  
was settling his glasses back on his face when he heard  
something. A wide grin split his face as he realized what  
the sound was. He looked around quickly, seeing no one, he  
ducked into a stand of trees and spun quickly into the suit  
and took off in the direction of the noise.  
  
****  
  
Kiley opened her eyes again. She had peeked when the  
kidnapper had entered the room again to look at them. This  
time, she had gotten a really good look. The most  
difficult part had been convincing Joseph to pretend to be  
asleep while their captor was in the room. Kiley sat up  
and looked over at her brother. It was well past his  
naptime and she knew, from the growling in her tummy, that  
it was past dinnertime too. Joseph was curled up into a  
ball with his thumb in his mouth. He had her Clarkie-bear  
cuddled up under one arm as well.  
  
Kiley took a deep breath. It was time. "*Help, Superman*!"  
she screamed. Kiley sat back to wait. D-Superman would be  
there soon to rescue them and take them home.  
  
Tez burst into the room and glared at her evilly. She  
refused to be scared; help was on the way.  
  
****  
  
Clark flew over a grove of trees and landed in a clearing  
in the center of it. He x-rayed the area, looking for the  
source of the call for help that had jolted him from his  
reverie. Within seconds, he had seen something that could  
not be seen with the naked eye. How very star-trekish,  
he thought as he walked toward the 'cloaked' vessel. He  
approached the side of the ship where the children were and  
ripped it open like a tin can. With a burst of superspeed,  
he dashed forward and snatched his kids as their kidnapper  
advanced toward them. He flew off, holding Kiley and  
Joseph securely in his arms. The first thing he had to do  
was to take them home where they would be safe; he would  
deal with their captor in a few minutes.  
  
Clark flew home as quickly as he dared with his precious  
burden. He made soothing noises as his baby girl threw her  
arms around his neck and began to cry. Minutes later,  
Clark landed in front of the house, went inside, and handed  
the still-sleeping Joseph to Lois while he gently soothed  
away Kiley's tears before placing her in Lois's waiting  
arms. "I'll be back to check on your kids," he said, "But  
first I have to go catch a kidnapper." Clark flew back to  
the cloaked ship and began to scout the area for the person  
who had stolen his children. Tez was nowhere to be seen.  
He growled in frustration and flew home. Clark flew into  
the upstairs bedroom window and quickly spun back into his  
street clothes. He and Lois called Perry and the police to  
let them know of the children's safe return and spent most  
of the rest of the evening cuddling and reassuring Kiley  
and Joseph.  
  
****  
  
Tez grimaced as he began to prepare to contact his Master.  
He hadn't failed... yet. There was still time to kill Kal-  
El and the children, but he didn't want to hear what Lord  
Nor would say when he told him about the rescue. Out of  
petty spitefulness, he decided not to tell his Lord about  
the strange abilities Kal-El possessed. With a deep sigh,  
Tez sent out a query. What have you to report, assassin?, came the reply.  
  
Kal-El rescued his children; he has become... bothersome,  
and his wife is just as bad. Tez sent.  
  
Fine. Kill Kal-El first and then dispose of his  
children. I can't have any claimants from the House of El  
getting in my way. Nor's mind-voice sounded bored as he  
ordered the murders.  
  
Yes, Milord. Tez sent with an evil chuckle. He would  
definitely enjoy this.  
  
****  
  
Martha checked her watch again. Clark was late. They'd  
made plans for herself and Jonathan to come to Metropolis  
for a long weekend. After all, Lois's and Clark's six year  
anniversary was on Sunday, so it gave them time to spend  
with the grandkids. Lois and Clark had been planning on  
getting away for the weekend, leaving them to baby-sit  
Kiley and Joseph. Martha glanced at her watch a final time  
before picking up the phone and dialing her son's number.  
As the phone began to ring, Jonathan walked in the room.  
  
"Clark?" Martha said as her son picked up on the other end.  
"You're late, sweetie. What happened? Joseph and Kiley  
were *kidnapped*?" At those words, Jonathan picked up the  
other phone to listen in.  
  
"Clark Jerome Kent! As soon as those babies are asleep,  
you're flying your butt to Smallville and bringing your  
father and me to Metropolis! They're asleep now? Then I  
expect you here in ten minutes. You *know* that after  
today, Joseph probably won't tolerate daycare for a while!  
Clark, I said *now*. Tell Lois that you're coming to get  
us so we can watch the kids. We need to talk about this  
whole mess. I'll see you in a few minutes." Martha hung up  
the phone and went to get the beam-splitter and the toys  
that she had picked up for her grandchildren. Within  
minutes, Clark was there; he took the luggage and then came  
back for his parents one at a time. It wasn't long before  
they were sitting in the living room of their children's  
home. Martha offered to watch the children sleep so that  
Lois and Clark could go talk to Zara and Ching about the  
kidnapping...and find a way to protect the kids from the  
likes of Lord Nor and Tez.  
  
****  
  
Hand-in-hand, Lois and Clark entered the New Kryptonians'  
vessel. Clark knew that he probably could have contacted  
them telepathically, but not only was he not in complete  
control of this newly discovered ability, but also this  
interview would best be conducted in person. He couldn't  
help but think that if they had not come his family would  
be safe. He felt a surge of irrational anger towards them  
for being here... he almost hated them for their very  
existence.  
  
He was very much aware that he and Lois had not yet had the  
chance to talk about many of the events that had transpired  
in the last few days. Swiftly, he composed himself for the  
coming confrontation. Clark wanted to know exactly why  
they remained on Earth; why they refused to leave without  
him.  
  
Zara 'Felt' Kal-El enter the vessel. Silently, she called  
Ching and strode forward to meet her visitor. Her eyes  
narrowed as she saw Lois with him... she refused to be  
reconciled to the fact that he was *married* to this--  
creature. "Hello, Kal-El," she began quietly, "I trust that  
you have made your decision?"  
  
Clark looked at Zara, the pain and suffering that he had  
underwent in the past few hours shining forth from his  
eyes. "I told you 'no' our first meeting; as of this  
moment in time, it has not changed. I want to know why; we  
want to know why. Nor's assassin kidnapped Kiley and  
Joseph; they could have been killed by that monster!"  
  
"Why is he attacking us?" Lois asked softly, her question  
almost a plea.  
  
Zara collapsed into a chair as Ching entered the room.  
"Ching will explain," she said as she brought her head down  
to rest in her hands. She couldn't tell them. Kal-El's  
pain was far too easy to see. She wanted to take him in  
her arms and kiss away the pain, fear, and worry that he  
had suffered for his offspring.  
  
Ching gazed at the royal couple seriously before replying.  
Kal-El had chosen Lois for his mate; as far as Ching was  
concerned, that made her equal to Zara. "Clark, Lois," he  
began. "Lord Nor most likely wanted to hurt you before  
eliminating you. Clark, you and your children are the only  
thing that stands between him and ruling our planet. Kiley  
and Joseph are, as of yet, too young to be of any threat to  
him, but you are not. It is often his way of playing with  
those he considers rivals before taking them out of the  
picture." Ching looked at them sadly.  
  
"Even if you defeat Tez, this will not be the last attempt.  
Nor will continue to send assassin after assassin until  
you, Kiley, Joseph, and your wife's unborn child are all  
dead. He is utterly without conscience or scruples. The  
Council ordered me to come; I didn't like their orders then  
and I don't like them now. However, Clark, you are the  
best hope for saving our world. I can't promise much, but  
I know Nor. If you come with us, he will ignore the  
children and Lois in favor of focusing on you; as Lord Kal-  
El you are the greater threat to him."  
  
Lois and Clark exchanged a glance. Clark looked at Ching  
measuringly for a moment. "Lois and I need to talk about  
this," he said after a long pause. Without another word,  
Lois and Clark left the ship and headed home. Martha and  
Jonathan were waiting for them.  
  
****  
  
Clark finished filling his parents in on the past few days  
and looked at them expectantly.  
  
"So, if you do go to this New Krypton," Martha began, "The  
children will be safe, Lois will be safe, but you won't  
have any of your powers, is that right?"  
  
"Ching swears that Nor would leave them alone... and yes, I  
will be like anyone else," Clark answered.  
  
"Able to die like anyone else," Lois reminded him quietly.  
She hated the thought of him leaving, but she knew it would  
be almost worse to live through day after day of the kind  
she had just endured. Clark would go to any lengths to  
protect her and their children... even leave for a brief  
period of time to keep them safe.  
  
"So, help me out here. What do you guys think I should  
do?" Clark asked after a long pause.  
  
"Oh, Clark," Martha said. "Do you know how much I want to  
say that you should tell these people to just get lost,  
that this isn't your problem; that you can find a way to  
keep Lois, Kiley, and Joseph safe without going with them?"  
  
"And I guess a lot of folks would say that's the smart  
thing to do," Jonathan said.  
  
"When your father and I were young, we marched for civil  
rights," Martha explained.  
  
"We were hit by fire hoses, chased by dogs... Ah, it was  
something... Most of the people we met were like us, they  
just wanted to make sure that their children could grow up  
safely; they didn't want their kids to have to worry about  
the things that they did growing up," Jonathan remembered.  
  
"And people said to us, 'Why should you go there? This  
isn't your fight!' and I didn't even know what to say!  
Because it was something we believed in," Martha  
continued.  
  
"We've never been asked to send you off to war, son, but if  
we were, and you asked me, 'Should I go?', I'd say to you,  
'Is this your fight?'" Jonathan looked at his son, love  
shining in his eyes. His boy sat in front of him, his boy  
that he was proud of.  
  
"Is this something you believe in? Is it worth going with  
them after the kidnapper is behind bars to ensure that the  
children and Lois are safe?" Martha asked.  
  
Clark closed his eyes in sudden pain. Their words struck  
like a hot knife through his heart. He felt Lois's arms  
come around him, helping him bear the burden of the  
decision that these interlopers had forced them to make.  
He heard his parents slip out of the room and head upstairs  
to give them some space.  
  
"Maybe Nor would leave us alone if I abdicated." Clark said,  
strain evident in his voice. He opened his eyes and  
looked at her, almost pleading to be told that the decision  
he dreaded could be delayed.  
  
Lois put her hand on the side of his face and caressed it  
gently. "Sweetheart," she began. "How many megalomaniacs  
have we dealt with over the years? This Nor person sounds  
almost like Lex to me. Do you *really* think that he'll  
leave us alone? After all, the children can be considered  
heirs even though they can't go to New Krypton."  
  
"You're right," Clark whispered. "He probably hates me  
for even existing. And as long as I stay, you, our kids,  
and my parents are in danger because of the blasted  
locator chip in my arm. I don't want to admit it, but I  
think that Nor has to be dealt with, and I can't see any  
other way of doing that than going with Zara and Ching."  
Clark closed his eyes as a fresh wave of pain swept over  
him. Without opening his eyes, he pulled Lois to him.  
Somehow he felt that what he had to say would be easier  
if he didn't look at her.  
  
"I could hate them easily, you know," he began harshly.  
"I could hate all of them. Especially Jor-El. Why  
couldn't he have told me in the globe's messages from  
the beginning 'Kal, don't bother to fall in love, get  
married, and start a family. Because guess what!  
You're probably not the only survivor and in thirty-five  
years or so, the other survivors will come and rip you  
away from the place you call home and all the people you  
love. Just don't *bother* to have a life of your own!'"  
Clark spat out bitterly. He opened his eyes and looked  
at his wife, the pent up emotion of the past few days  
surfacing with a vengeance. Tears began to stream down  
his cheeks as he struggled to control himself.  
  
Lois gathered him close to her and comforted him as he  
sobbed into her shoulder. He seldom let go like this and  
let her help bear this kind of pain. It had been a long  
time since he had cursed fate as he did now; and the best  
thing she could do for him was to simply hold him close.  
"Shh, sweetheart, it's okay. We'll get through this."  
Lois climbed to her feet, gently pulling him with her.  
  
They would inform Zara and Ching of their decision in the  
morning; for now, Clark needed her. Lois pulled him into  
their room and began to gently kiss away the tears. She  
yanked his shirt from his jeans and slid her hands  
underneath it. She tugged the shirt off of him and began to  
trail open-mouthed kisses down his chest. Tonight, he  
needed to hold onto her to assure himself that she was  
there for him, she loved him, and that she knew he was  
meant to have a life with her; tomorrow would take care of  
itself.  
  
****  
  
The next morning, Lois and Clark left Kiley and Joseph with  
their grandparents and went to see Zara and Ching. They  
approached the space ship and entered it hand in hand.  
Zara and Ching appeared from behind the tapestry and walked  
over to them. "You have something to tell us, Kal-El?"  
Zara asked.  
  
Clark took a deep breath and squeezed Lois's hand. "*We*  
have something to tell you," he stated firmly.  
  
Lois freed her hand and slipped her arm around her  
husband's waist. "He and I have decided that he should  
help you in your struggle," Lois said as she fought  
desperately to keep her voice steady.  
  
"And you both understand that Lois and the children must  
remain here? She would never survive the other world...  
and it is possible that the children would not either,"  
Zara stated.  
  
"We understand," Clark said.  
  
Misery radiated from the couple, causing Ching to wince in  
sympathy. He was a marginal empath, and the couple's pain  
hung thickly in the air. He sincerely hoped that somehow,  
Clark's unhappiness would soften a bit. If not, the trip  
to their homeworld would be torture until he taught his  
Lord how to properly use and shield the mind gifts he had  
been born with. Ching slowly approached Lois. "I know  
exactly what you're giving up," he said compassionately.  
  
Lois looked into his eyes and noted the sadness that lurked  
within. She didn't know this man's story, but something in  
his past must have affected him to the point that he was  
militant about keeping families together. Somehow, she  
knew that he understood. "I know you do," she said softly.  
  
"Excellent," Zara said approvingly. "We'll make  
arrangements to leave as soon as Tez is no longer a hazard.  
He won't willingly let you leave, Kal-El. Can you overcome  
him?"  
  
"Zara," Clark began, "First of all, I need time before I  
can leave... at least until Monday morning. I have  
responsibilities here that I cannot just leave behind me.  
I will leave for New Krypton with you in three days; you  
must be able to wait that long. As for Tez, I will have to  
in order to keep my family safe, now won't I?"  
  
Zara nodded her acquiesce to the plan before she closed her  
eyes and frowned. "Tez is very near." She said quietly.  
  
Clark spun into the suit and ran out into the alleyway as  
Lois, Zara, and Ching followed behind him.  
  
"I am here, Kal-El," came the whispery voice that sent  
chills up Clark's spine. He looked around for the source  
of the words; they were coming from somewhere nearby, but  
he couldn't find the location of the speaker.  
  
"I am here, Kal-El," the voice said gleefully before the  
creature known as Tez seemingly appeared out of thin air.  
He had been hiding as a spider on the wall of the alley;  
changing into something small had always been a sure-fire  
way to hide from his prey. Tez lofted a small sphere in  
his hand. The weapon pulsed in the limited light of the  
alley. "You are finished, Kal-El!" Tez crowed joyfully as  
he pressed a button on the sphere and a bolt of lightning  
issued forth from it and slammed into Clark's chest. Clark  
staggered from the force of the blow and aimed a blast of  
heat vision at the globe. The globe transmuted the heat  
vision and sent it back as a green beam that sent Clark  
reeling. "Kal-El, your life belongs to me!" Tez gloated  
joyfully as he again pressed a button on the globe to send  
another lightening bolt after Clark.  
  
Clark blocked the beam with his hands and redirected it  
towards Tez. As Tez reeled from the force of the blast,  
Clark followed up with a blast of heat-vision that knocked  
Tez off balance. Clark strode forward at superspeed,  
knocking Tez into the brick wall behind him. Tez left a  
Tez-shaped indentation in the wall right before crumpling  
to the ground in a daze.  
  
Zara, Ching, and Lois walked out of the disguised door of  
the spaceship to join Clark. Lois came to him and put her  
arms around his waist. Tez had been defeated; soon he  
would be in jail for his crimes and their children would be  
safe for the time being. Clark dropped a kiss on the top  
of his wife's head and brought his arms up to surround her.  
  
"Impressive," Ching commented.  
  
"Most impressive," Zara agreed.  
  
"What should we do with Tez?" Clark asked.  
  
"Tez has failed. Among his kind that is unacceptable,"  
Ching said.  
  
"He will bring his life forces to an end," Zara explained.  
  
Tez's eyes turned into empty voids and his remains  
collapsed into a pile of ashes. Just as they were about to  
turn around to leave, the foursome heard something. You  
have won the battle, not the war. If you're fool enough to  
make the journey, Kal-El, I'll await your arrival-and ruin  
-- on New Krypton. The voice faded with an evil chuckle.  
  
Lois looked at Zara and Ching in confusion. "How did I  
hear that?" she asked quietly.  
  
"Some Kryptonians can project their thoughts into the minds  
of the non-gifted," Ching explained. "Nor is one such  
person."  
  
"Ok-ay," Lois said thoughtfully. She planted a kiss on  
Clark's lips and turned to Ching with a determined look on  
her face. "I need to talk to you for a few minutes," she  
demanded.  
  
Clark saw the look on her face and immediately felt sorry  
for Ching. When Lois looked as she did now, heads usually  
rolled. He was thankful that her look was not directed  
towards him, and it was fairly easy for him to guess  
exactly what she wanted to talk to Ching about.  
  
****  
  
Lois walked back into the spaceship, expecting Ching to  
follow. She sat gingerly on one of the chairs in the  
middle of the room and settled back to wait. Ching soon  
entered the room and stood in front of her. "Mrs. Kent?"  
he questioned.  
  
"Lane," she corrected, "But you can call me Lois. If  
you're going to take my husband haring across the galaxy to  
prevent some war on a planet we've never heard of, then  
there are a few things we need to talk about." Lois looked  
at him expectantly.  
  
"Yes, ma'am?" Ching said, a question evident in his voice.  
  
"I want you to promise to protect my Clark and bring him  
back to me in one piece. I'll make you a deal; he goes  
with you and solves your problem as part of his never-  
ending quest to keep our kids and me safe, and you protect  
him and find a way to make the council or whatever ruling  
body on New Krypton let him come home. Do we have a deal?"  
Lois stared at Ching, her 'Mad Dog Lane' expression still  
evident on her face.  
  
"Milady," Ching began. "I swear to you by..." his voice  
took on a kind of ritualized chant, "The stars, the ground  
and all things in between, that I will bring Clark home. I  
swear by the One Who Holds Us All, that I will die before I  
allow a hair of his head to be harmed. I swear with my  
breath, my blood, my body; I will return him to you in one  
piece. If I fail to keep my word, may I be sent into the  
All-Encompassing Darkness From Which There Is No Return.  
Is that sufficient for you Milady?"  
  
Lois nodded slowly. "Watch over him for me, please... be  
his friend while he's there..." her voice trailed off. She  
stood and crossed the room. "He takes on too much; he  
always has," she murmured, choking back tears.  
  
Hesitantly, Ching walked over and laid a hand on her arm.  
"Milady, he will be all right; he will be safe. I swear  
it." He said sincerely.  
  
****  
  
Clark looked around and quickly spun back into his street  
clothes. He needed to talk to Lois. If he really were to  
leave with Zara and Ching, it was far past time for Perry  
and Jimmy to be let in on the secret. Clark stuffed his  
hands into his pockets and scuffed his foot against the  
ground. Lois would need all the help she could get in his  
absence with the new baby coming and two very active  
children. He knew that Perry and Jimmy would be willing to  
help take up the slack caused by his absence. Perry  
wouldn't be expecting them in today because of yesterday's  
kidnapping, but that fact simply meant that today would be  
the ideal time to finally tell both of them the truth. He  
would also need a plausible excuse for his continued  
absence from the newsroom and he was sure that Perry could  
help them come up with one.  
  
With Perry's help, his coinciding absence with Superman's  
would go unmarked... especially if they convinced the world  
that Superman left a few days before Clark dropped out of  
sight. He had learned his lesson long ago about making  
important decisions without Lois's input. Hopefully, she  
would finish speaking with Ching soon so that they could  
find a quiet place to talk. Clark leaned back against the  
brick wall of the alleyway and lost himself in his  
thoughts. He hoped Lois would be okay in his absence.  
Over the last few years, she had become more careful.  
Clark knew that there were three little reasons for that.  
Being responsible for the tiny little pink bundles that  
they had brought home from the hospital had made her just a  
little bit less willing to risk life and limb for a story.  
  
A smile stole over Clark's face as he thought of the new  
life growing inside his beloved wife. He desperately  
wanted to be there throughout her pregnancy; the last one  
had been hard and he wanted to be there for Lois as much as  
possible. He heaved a sigh as he thought of leaving her to  
go halfway around the known galaxy to a world he'd never  
seen, a world he didn't know existed until a few days  
before. He wanted to grab her and the children and fly to  
a place where they wouldn't be found. Fat chance with  
that chip in your arm, a little voice in his head taunted.  
He resented it. He resented the chip, he resented the fact  
that they could find him with no trouble. He hated the  
fact that he was expected to simply drop everything and go  
with them... especially since, to keep his kids safe, it  
was his only choice. Clark balled his hand into a fist and  
hit the palm of his other hand with it in frustration. He  
was stuck in a no-win scenario. No matter which decision  
he made, someone would suffer. Distantly, he heard Lois's  
voice stop. Lucky for him, she would be coming out soon.  
  
****  
  
Kiley opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling of her  
room. She was thankful that Superman had rescued them; the  
guy that had kidnapped them was creepy. Vaguely she  
remembered her grandparents coming up to tuck her in again  
late the night before. She hoped that it hadn't been a  
dream and that they would be staying. Kiley shoved back  
the covers and climbed out of bed. She grabbed Clarkie-  
bear and went in search of her Grandma and her Mom.  
"Mommy? Grandma?" she called. She wandered downstairs  
and called again, "Mommy? Grandma? Where are you?"  
  
"In here, honey," Martha called from the kitchen. "Your  
Mommy and Daddy had to go to work, but they'll be back  
soon."  
  
Kiley dashed for the kitchen and hugged Martha as hard as  
she could. She looked up at her grandmother with a  
troubled look on her face. "Grandma, why did the man take  
Joseph an' me? It's my fault 'cause I was bad, isn't it?"  
  
Martha leaned over, picked her granddaughter up and hugged  
her tightly. She's definitely her father's daughter; she  
becomes more like him every day, Martha thought before she  
reassured her grandbaby as she had reassured her son so  
many times before. "Oh, sweetheart, it's not your fault at  
all! The man who took you and Joseph wanted you because of  
who your mom and dad are. The man thought that kidnapping  
you was a good way to hurt your mommy and daddy. But he's  
never going to try and hurt you again because your parents  
are going to make sure he goes to jail."  
  
Kiley wound her arms around her grandmother's neck and  
clung to her tightly. "Are you an' Grandpa staying with  
us, Grandma? I don't want you to go."  
  
"Of course I am, punkin'," Martha answered.  
  
"Good," Kiley said, comforted at last. Her parents would  
put her kidnapper in jail and Grandma and Grandpa would be  
staying for a few days. Better than that, tomorrow she  
would be going to work with her parents; it was a take your  
child to work day. She loved the newsroom; better yet, she  
loved spending time with Grandpa Perry. She especially  
loved it when he let her pretend to be an investigative  
reporter... just like her parents.  
  
"Now, sweetheart, would you like some breakfast?" Martha  
asked, interrupting her reverie. She put Kiley down and  
dropped a kiss on the top of her head.  
  
"Uh huh. But Grandma, I'm still wearing my pajamas."  
  
"It's okay just this once, punkin'. Come and sit at the  
table." Martha walked over to the stove and slid Kiley-  
sized pancakes on to a plate. Kiley climbed into a chair  
and smiled; all was right in her world.  
  
****  
  
Perry sighed in relief as he saw Lois and Clark walk into  
the bullpen. Despite the call he had received the night  
before, he hadn't been quite willing to believe that *his*  
grandchildren were okay until he saw their parents walk  
into the newsroom the next day; he needed to hear the news  
in person to truly believe it. He had offered to stop by  
the night before, but they had wanted to spend time alone  
with the kids. "Lois, Clark, *in my office now*!" he  
called.  
  
Lois and Clark exchanged a glance, wondering what Perry  
could possibly have to say to them; after all, he had given  
them the day off. "Coming, Chief," Clark called.  
  
Lois reached out and grasped Clark's hand as they hurried  
toward Perry's office. It hadn't taken long for her to  
agree to tell Perry their secret. After all these years,  
surely he deserved to know the truth and having one more  
person in on their secret would be an invaluable asset in  
the days to come. Her mind and heart recoiled from the  
concept of not having Clark by her side; she simply didn't  
want to think about life without him.  
  
Hand-in-hand, they walked into Perry's office and sat down  
in the chairs that sat in front of his desk. Perry looked  
at them soberly. "Kids," he began, "are you two and the  
little ones all right? I don't know what I'd do if  
anything happened to y'all."  
  
"Perry, we're fine," Lois said. "But there is something we  
have to tell you and Jimmy."  
  
"Privately," Clark chimed in.  
  
"Sure, kids," Perry answered. He walked over to the door  
and stuck his head out of it. "Jimmy," he called, "Get  
your butt in here! Everyone else, if you so much as try to  
interrupt us, or stick your nose inside my door for the  
next half an hour, you're *fired* got that?"  
  
"Yes, Chief," Jimmy called as he jogged toward Perry's  
office. Jimmy entered the office and wordlessly assisted  
as Lois, Clark, and Perry shut the blinds tightly and  
locked the doors. He knew that something was up; he hadn't  
seen looks as serious as the ones Lois, Clark, and Perry  
were wearing for a long time. Whatever it was, he vowed,  
he would stick by his friends. Clark had been the older  
brother he had wanted for years, Lois had been like an  
older sister, and Perry had long ago filled the role of  
surrogate father. For all intents and purposes, they were  
family; and, in his mind, families should stick together.  
  
Soon the room was as secure as they could make it. Clark  
quickly checked for any hidden listening devices and prying  
eyes or ears. They were prepared to tell the family secret  
to Perry and Jimmy; not to the whole world. Clark walked  
over and stood behind Lois, encircling her within his  
embrace to give her the comfort and support that both of  
them desperately needed. The couple watched as Jimmy and  
Perry settled into chairs and looked at them expectantly.  
Clark took a deep breath and looked at his beloved. Lois  
smiled at him reassuringly, telling him without words that  
she supported this decision wholeheartedly.  
  
"Perry, Jimmy," Clark began, "we have something we need to  
tell you... a secret that we can't keep from you anymore."  
  
"What is it, kids?" Perry asked quietly.  
  
"Yeah, CK, Lois, what do you have to tell us?" Jimmy  
questioned.  
  
"The first thing we have to say is that this is not for  
publication, *ever*. Too many lives are at stake if this  
gets out," Lois said earnestly. "This secret has to remain  
between the four of us; no one else can know."  
  
"I wouldn't be a man in my position if I hadn't learned how  
to keep secrets," Perry stated seriously.  
  
Jimmy nodded his assent. "I won't tell anyone, I swear."  
  
Clark took a deep breath, turned Lois's hand over, leaned  
down, and dropped a kiss in her palm. He stepped away from  
her for a few minutes. They had agreed that the best way  
to tell Perry and Jimmy would be more show than tell. He  
stared at his friends for a moment, hoping that they would  
not regret this decision. "Perry, Jimmy, ever since I've  
known you, I've been keeping this secret. In fact, I've  
kept this a secret my entire life. There are only four  
other people on Earth who know this about me... about us."  
Clark took another deep breath before continuing. "We  
decided it would be easier to show you rather than tell  
you, so here we go." Clark quickly spun into the Suit and  
stood in front of them as Superman. "I'm Superman," he  
said softly.  
  
Jimmy's eyes widened in shock. Suddenly, all of Clark's  
strange disappearances over the years made sense.  
Everything that he had found inexplicable about his best  
friend had been explained. Another shockwave hit him as he  
realized that one of his closest friends was *Superman*.  
He had gone camping, fishing, to the movies, and to  
baseball games with *Superman*.  
  
Clark, noticing his friend's reaction, quickly spun back  
into his street clothes and held out his hand. "Jimmy, I'm  
still me. I'm still Clark."  
  
"CK, wow. I know... it's just... Superman? I never  
thought he and you were the same person; it just never  
occurred to me."  
  
Lois smiled crookedly, "You weren't suppose to connect the  
two of them... I should know; it took me two years to  
figure it out!"  
  
"The reason it works so well is that no one expects a  
superhero to work as a reporter and have a normal life...  
people only see what they want and expect to see," Clark  
explained.  
  
"CK, it's just... Wow! It's a lot to take in," Jimmy  
repeated.  
  
"We decided to tell both of you now because something has  
happened," Lois said seriously.  
  
"Some people from my homeworld have come; apparently  
without me, war will commence and tear their society apart.  
I wouldn't consider going if it weren't for the fact that  
the leader of the other side, Lord Nor, is determined to  
kill Kiley, Joseph, Lois, and me so that he can rule New  
Krypton. If I go with them, he'll leave Lois and our kids  
alone," Clark explained. "He was behind yesterday's  
kidnapping... and he would have killed the children if  
Kiley hadn't yelled for Superman."  
  
"As any proper Metropolian child would," Perry murmured.  
  
"We don't know how long he'll have to be gone," Lois  
continued.  
  
"We decided that you two needed to know; Lois is going to  
need support while I'm gone." Clark glanced at Lois sadly,  
the hurt of being forced to leave already evident in his  
eyes. "With the new baby on the way, she'll need help with  
Kiley and Joseph... and we were hoping that you could help  
us come up with an excuse for me to be away for a while so  
that the world doesn't connect Clark Kent's disappearance  
with Superman's."  
  
Perry nodded slowly. An idea was already beginning to  
form; and it wouldn't take much to carry it out.  
  
"We also want to call a press conference tomorrow for  
Superman's official announcement and farewell; that way  
Clark doesn't drop from sight the same time that Superman  
does." Lois said.  
  
"Okay, kids. We'll arrange the press conference... and  
Clark, we'll tell the powers that be that you're on  
assignment--undercover. That way Lois and the kids will be  
financially okay because I'm keeping you on the payroll.  
But I expect the exclusive when you get back." Perry  
opened a drawer and rummaged around inside before pulling  
out a leather-bound book. "Take this journal with you and  
write down *everything*. I want accounts of your time on  
this planet of yours."  
  
"Thanks Chief," Clark said softly. It was more than he  
hoped for. He had been worried about how his family would  
be able to cope without him there; Perry's offer to keep  
him on the payroll eased some of the pressure he felt when  
considering his family's financial future. He had never  
liked the idea of using his powers for financial gain, but  
he had been seriously considering going to an undiscovered  
gold mine he knew of to make sure that his family was  
provided for in his absence.  
  
"I'll help in any way I can," Jimmy promised solemnly.  
  
"Thank you," Lois said softly. She walked over to Jimmy  
and hugged him before turning to Perry. Gratitude shone  
from her face as she gave him a hug as well.  
  
"Aw, y'all that's enough of that. You two have the weekend  
off, with Sunday being your anniversary and all...I'm  
giving you Friday as well so you can spend time together as  
a family before you leave. When are you leaving anyway?"  
Perry looked at his favorite reporters questioningly.  
  
"Monday," Clark said quietly. "I told them I couldn't  
possibly leave until then; they say that we must leave as  
soon as possible in order to stop this Lord Nor. Perry, we  
can't take tomorrow off; first there's the press conference  
and we promised Kiley that she could come to work with us  
tomorrow because it's 'Take your child to work day'."  
  
"You're taking the rest of today off and you have tomorrow  
afternoon off as well. That's an order." Perry said. "Now,  
Jimmy, don't you have a story to work on?"  
  
"Yes Chief!" Jimmy headed toward the door. He exited the  
office, making sure to close the door behind him to give  
them a measure of privacy.  
  
"Lois, Clark," Perry began, "I just wanted you to know that  
I've known about Superman's true identity for years... I  
wouldn't be a man in my position if I didn't know certain  
things." Perry smiled suddenly, "I'm not editor of the  
world's greatest newspaper because I can yodel. Now, you  
two get on out of here and spend some time with the kids.  
Take them to the beach, the park, the amusement park;  
anything."  
  
Lois and Clark exchanged a surprised glance. "Yes, Chief,"  
they chorused and headed out of his office and home.  
  
Perry tipped his chair back and put his feet up on his  
desk. He had known that sooner or later Clark would come  
clean to him about his true origins. After all, it was  
probably only a matter of time before Kiley and Joseph  
started exhibiting signs of their parentage. He, too,  
hated the fact that Clark was being forced to leave, but he  
could see the wisdom in it. Clark would walk on water for  
Lois and their children or die trying. A blind man could  
see that they meant everything to him and that Lois felt  
the same way. He vowed that he would do whatever he could  
to keep the small family afloat in his surrogate son's  
absence. He owed it to Clark, the ordinary, extraordinary  
man who had saved the world more times than he could count.  
  
****  
  
TBC... 


	4. Conclusion

Lois stared unseeing into the darkness, silent tears  
slipping down her face as a sleeping Clark held her close.  
His promise a few days earlier to protect her and their  
children now seemed a bit ominous as they faced his  
imminent departure. They had taken the children to the  
zoo; their favorite place. The normal everyday rituals of  
their small household had seemed comforting, as if their  
lives were not being slowly, inexorably ripped apart by a  
world light years away from their own.  
  
She rolled over and stroked Clark's hair away from his face  
as he murmured incoherently in his sleep. They had made  
love frantically that night as if by loving each other they  
could delay the inevitable. Worn out, Clark had finally  
fallen asleep, but she remained awake. Carefully, she  
slipped out of her lover's embrace, threw on a robe, and  
walked over to her jewelry box. She opened it and pulled  
out an heirloom that was an inheritance from her great-  
grandmother. She had never had a use for it... until now.  
Lois opened it, pulled out the original contents, and put  
them away carefully for later. She had to do this while  
Clark was asleep; she didn't want him to find out until the  
time was right.  
  
Quietly, she picked up the scissors and snuck in the  
children's rooms to accomplish her purpose. She added her  
gleanings to a little pile of plastic bags that she then  
hid in her jewelry box along with a miniature family  
portrait that had been taken in Smallville the month  
before. She was determined that Clark would have something  
with him to remind him of what he left behind... what he  
had to come home to. With that thought in mind, she took  
off her robe and slipped back into Clark's warm embrace.  
She had three days and three nights left with her beloved  
before he had to leave for who knew how long. Lois was  
determined to make them count.  
  
****  
  
Kiley bounced up and down in between her parents as they  
entered the newsroom. She loved coming to the Daily Planet  
and was triply excited when her mother had mentioned  
something about a news conference there this morning. As  
they walked down into the bullpen, Kiley spotted someone  
she hadn't seen for a few weeks. She pulled away from her  
mother and ran toward him happily. "Grandpa Perry!" she  
called as she jumped into his arms.  
  
"Catling!" Perry said laughingly as he swung her around and  
hugged her tightly. "I hear that you had an adventure this  
week and got to meet Superman... want to tell me about it,  
darlin'?"  
  
Kiley threw her arms around his neck and kissed him on the  
cheek. "Okay, Grandpa Perry... but can we stay in here an'  
watch the press comfrense? I want to see."  
  
"We sure can, catling," Perry said with a broad smile as he  
tickled her gently. He was very thankful that his small  
granddaughter had come through her ordeal safely and very  
grateful that he now held her in his arms. He sincerely  
hoped that her father's absence wouldn't be too hard on  
her; she was a sensitive child and liable to blame herself  
if she thought he had left them for good. He hadn't really  
been there for his own children growing up, but when Kiley  
was born, he vowed to try and make it up to the only  
'grandchildren' still within reach. He would be there as  
much as he could for the two precious little ones that  
belonged to his heart-children.  
  
Kiley leaned her head against Perry's shoulder. She was  
content to let him carry her; it wasn't often that she got  
the chance to come to the Planet, and even less often that  
she got to see a press conference. She tightened her arms  
around her grandpa's neck; she was lucky. Most of her  
friends only had two sets of grandparents while she had  
three. She hoped that she could go to visit Grandpa Perry  
and Grandma Alice soon... Grandma Alice always had warm  
chocolate chip cookies for her during visits and Grandpa  
Perry had a little typewriter there for her to play with.  
Someday she would work for the Daily Planet and be an  
investigative reporter like her parents... or editor like  
Grandpa Perry.  
  
Perry walked over to Clark's desk and sat down in the chair  
behind it, settling his little girl in his lap. He smiled  
at her interested look as reporters from all over the city  
began to gather in the bullpen in front of the podium set  
up on the second level. He hugged her tightly and dropped  
a kiss on the top of her head. It was his fondest wish  
that she might follow in her parents' footsteps; newsprint  
was in her blood, printer's ink ran through her veins.  
  
Kiley spotted Jimmy across the room and began squirming to  
get down. "Is it okay if I go see Uncle Jimmy, Grandpa  
Perry?"  
  
"Of course, catling," Perry said as he set her down and  
kissed her on her forehead.  
  
Kiley dashed off. "UncleJimmyunclejimmyunclejimmy!" she  
called as she ran towards him.  
  
Jimmy turned around and laughed as he saw her running  
toward him. He leaned down and scooped her up for a hug.  
"How are you punkin'?" he asked with a big smile.  
  
Kiley smiled. "I'm ok. How's Aunt Lucy?"  
  
"She's fine; she told me to tell you that as soon as she  
can get away from the hospital next week she's going to  
come and see you."  
  
Kiley grinned. "Yay! I miss her." She quieted as  
Superman flew in, settled behind the podium, and began to  
make a speech.  
  
"Although I have loved life here on Earth, and have called  
it my home for the past nine years, I have another home as  
well... one that needs me now." Superman looked over the  
crowd, a small measure of sadness discernable in his face.  
"But wherever I am, I'll carry the best of Earth with me.  
And while I'm gone, I ask each one of you to look to  
yourselves for the strength, decency, and compassion that  
each one of you has inside. Emerson said that self-trust  
is the essence of heroism. Inside each one of you is a  
hero. And so I leave, knowing that a world full of heroes  
has nothing to fear." Superman stepped down from the  
microphones and with a single backward glance at the crowd,  
took off through the window.  
  
Kiley squirmed in Jimmy's arms. "Uncle Jimmy," she began,  
"I need to talk to Mommy. Let me down, please?"  
  
"Sure, sweetheart." Jimmy put the little girl on her feet  
and smiled as she again took off through the crowd.  
  
Kiley wound her way through the crowd looking for her  
mother. After a bit of searching, she found her near the  
conference room. Kiley walked over and threw her arms  
around her mother's legs. "Mommy?" she began tentatively.  
  
Lois brought her hand down to her daughter's head and  
stroked the soft, brown curls that grew there. "Yes,  
punkin'?"  
  
Kiley looked up at her mom, fear shining in her eyes.  
"Mommy, is Daddy leaving?"  
  
Lois crouched down to her daughter's level. "Punkin',  
Daddy *does* have to go away for a little while on a  
business trip. We were planning on telling you and Joseph  
tonight." Lois reached out and hugged her daughter. She  
hated having to even tell her a half-truth, but they had  
decided that Kiley was too young to be let in on the  
secret.  
  
Kiley hugged her mother back thoughtfully. She knew that  
her mom wasn't telling her everything; after all her mother  
didn't know... She needed to talk to Grandpa Perry. Her  
parents had enough to deal with right now without her  
adding to it. "Mommy, I'm going to see Grandpa Perry  
okay?"  
  
"Sure, punkin'" Lois said and released her. She had a  
feeling that she needed to talk to her daughter fairly  
soon; something was on the child's mind and she needed to  
find out what it was. Sometimes Kiley was enough like  
Clark that the resemblance was a tad scary.  
  
****  
  
Kiley walked softly into Perry's office. "Grandpa Perry?"  
she said, a question evident in her voice.  
  
"Yes, darlin'," Perry answered absently as he set down the  
paper. It was one headline he had never wanted to see; a  
picture of Superman graced the front page with the headline  
'A World Without Superman'. He looked down at the little  
girl and was saddened to see a look of unchildlike woe  
written all over her face. He carefully got up and shut the  
door before he settled down on the couch and held out his  
arms in a silent invitation.  
  
Without hesitation, Kiley climbed into her surrogate  
grandfather's lap. She knew that her Grandpa Perry was to  
be trusted. Knowing what she did about the true state of  
things, she had to talk to a grown-up person about it. She  
had almost told her mother what she knew, but her small  
heart told her that her parents were having enough  
difficulties with daddy going away without her adding to  
them by asking this all-important question. "Grandpa  
Perry," she began, "I know why Daddy is going away. It's  
because he's Superman, isn't it?"  
  
Perry looked at Kiley in astonishment. This tiny scrap of  
a girl had figured out something that, in nine years, the  
rest of the world was in ignorance of. "Catling," he  
began, using his own special pet name for her, "how did you  
figure it out?"  
  
Kiley looked trustingly up at Perry. "I saw Superman kiss  
Mommy. An' she didn't slap him like she slapped Ralph when  
he tried to kiss her at the Planet's Avinursery party. The  
only person allowed to kiss Mommy is Daddy." Kiley smiled  
impishly, all the sadness clearing off her face like the  
sun after rain. "I started looking around an' I found  
where Daddy keeps his Superman clothes. So since Daddy has  
Superman clothes and Superman was kissing Mommy, it means  
that my Daddy is Superman." Kiley finished triumphantly.  
She had been proud of herself for figuring out such an  
important secret.  
  
Perry hugged his granddaughter tightly before looking down  
at her sweet little face and smiling. "Darlin', you're  
right... and my nickname for you has just proven itself to  
be true; you *are* as curious as a little cat!" He held  
Lois and Clark's daughter closely for a few moments before  
continuing. "Catling, you have to remember something very  
important for your parents, brother, grandparents, and me,  
okay?" Kiley looked up at him through serious brown eyes  
and nodded. "You can't tell anyone who your daddy really  
is; you can't tell anyone your family's secret."  
  
"I know," Kiley said. "Grandma Kent told me about people  
who might want to hurt Joseph an' me 'cause we're Mommy's  
and Daddy's kids..." her little voice trailed off as she  
looked up at Perry anxiously.  
  
Upon seeing the look on Kiley's face, Perry hastily moved  
to reassure her. "Catling, it's okay. Nothing's gonna  
happen to you or Joseph if we can prevent it. Now,  
shouldn't your Mom and Dad know what you just told me?"  
  
Kiley hesitated for a moment before she nodded her assent  
and climbed out of Perry's lap. Perry reached wordlessly  
for her hand and walked over to the door. "Lois, Clark in  
my office *now*!" he called.  
  
Lois and Clark hurried into Perry's office and shut the  
door behind them. "Yes, Chief?" Clark asked.  
  
"My little catling here has something to tell y'all," Perry  
sat down and pulled Kiley back into his lap.  
  
Kiley squirmed a little before looking up at her parents.  
"Daddy," she began hesitantly, "You're leaving because  
you're Superman, aren't you?" At the look of shock on her  
parents' faces she reiterated her earlier story of how she  
had figured out the big secret.  
  
Clark felt a swell of pride as he listened to *his*  
daughter relate how she had discovered a truth that most of  
the reporters in the world would give their eyeteeth to  
know. He smiled; joy and pride welled up inside of him.  
He went over, picked up his baby girl and swung her around  
in the air, laughing at her squeals of delight. "My little  
investigative reporter!" Clark said joyfully as he brought  
her down and hugged her.  
  
Lois came up in front of him and put her arms around both  
of them, sandwiching Kiley in between the adults. "We are  
so *proud* of you!" she said as she kissed her daughter on  
the forehead. They stood like that for a few minutes  
before coming back to Earth and the knowledge that their  
small family would soon be separated for an unknown amount  
of time. The rational part of Lois reminded her that if  
Clark was unable to stop the civil war, there was a very  
real chance that he would never make it back to her.  
Resolutely, she pushed the knowledge of his imminent  
departure to the back of her head. She had two and a half  
days and three nights left with him to last until his  
return.  
  
****  
  
Lois and Clark stood in the park, watching their children  
play. Together, they had decided to spend as much time  
with the kids as possible instead of taking their planned  
anniversary trip. It was more important that they spend  
time together as a family at this moment than spend time  
alone. They still planned to spend Sunday night together  
before Clark had to fly off into the unknown. Lois smiled  
as Clark slipped behind her and wrapped his arms around  
her. She leaned back into his embrace for a few minutes;  
it always felt wonderful to feel his arms surround her and  
she didn't know what she would do without him there to rely  
on. Reluctantly, she broke the embrace. Lois took her  
beloved's hand and they walked over to play with their  
children.  
  
Moments like these had always been precious, Clark  
reflected, but now they were doubly so. In a few short  
days, he would be leaving everything he ever wanted behind  
to face an unknown. He knew he had no choice but to go,  
but every fiber of his being protested leaving his pregnant  
wife and their two small children behind.  
  
He had often wondered how soldiers of past wars felt... Now  
he understood what they had gone through. He felt that his  
situation was a bit worse; after all, they at least got to  
stay on the same *planet* as their loved ones. As Clark  
looked at his Lois and their children, emotions threatened  
to overwhelm him. How could he leave them? Despite the  
fact that the only decision possible had been reached, a  
large part of him protested that he *could not* leave them  
behind. Resolutely, he crammed the knowledge of his...  
desertion in the back corners of his heart and mind and  
concentrated on spending some time with his babies.  
  
The next two days were spent in much the same way, spending  
time together as a family, desperately attempting to hide  
their distress over their impending sacrifice while  
cramming in as much family time as they could. From talks  
with Zara and Ching, they knew that even at hyperlight  
speed, New Krypton was a month away. Even if the succession  
problems were quickly and easily solved, it would be months  
before they were together again. Much of their evenings  
were spent cuddled together on the couch, reading stories  
and singing songs to Kiley and Joseph until they fell  
asleep.  
  
Clark leaned over Joseph's newly transformed toddler bed  
and kissed him on the cheek. "I love you, Daddy," the  
little boy said sleepily. He had taken the news of Clark's  
'business trip' rather well and Clark hoped that his  
continued absence wouldn't hurt his little boy. Kiley, due  
to her knowledge of his alter ego, understood slightly  
better. As Clark smoothed Joseph's hair away from his  
face, he noticed, for the first time, a small place on the  
child's head that had been cropped closely to his scalp.  
Mentally, he shrugged. Most likely, he thought, Joseph got  
his hands on Kiley's scissors and gave himself a haircut  
before someone stopped him.  
  
Quietly, he got up and went down the hall to tuck Kiley in.  
She held out her arms as he walked in the room. He walked  
over and hugged her gently. "I'll miss you, Daddy," she  
said, her big brown eyes brimming with unshed tears.  
  
"Hey," he said softly, "don't cry, punkin'! I'll be back,  
sweetheart, I promise! This isn't a time for tears. I'll  
still be here when you wake up... and it isn't goodbye,  
it's just a 'see you later' until I get back." Clark  
hugged his little girl once more before continuing.  
"Kiley, can you do something for me?" Kiley nodded; she  
would do whatever she could for her daddy. "Punkin' I need  
you to be a brave little girl and take care of your Mommy  
for me when I'm gone okay?"  
  
Kiley threw her arms around Clark and hugged him fiercely.  
"I promise, Daddy. I'll take care of Mommy."  
  
"Ready to go to bed now?" he asked quietly. Kiley nodded  
as Clark put her down on the bed and tucked the covers  
securely around her and Clarkie-bear. He leaned over and  
kissed her on the forehead before walking to the door,  
plugging in the nightlight, and turning off the light.  
"Goodnight, punkin'. I love you."  
  
"I love you too, Daddy... 'night," a little voice answered  
sleepily.  
  
Clark smiled sadly as he gently shut the door and made his  
way to the master bedroom where Lois was waiting for him.  
As he came into the room, Lois stood and put her arms  
around him. She trembled slightly in his embrace. "I  
don't know what to do here," she said quietly, her voice  
filled with pain. "I can't even write you. We haven't  
been separated for any length of time for six years; I  
don't know if I can stand it."  
  
"That makes two of us," he said miserably, "I don't know if  
I can do this."  
  
"You can. You will... and then you will come home to us,"  
she asserted softly, fighting back tears.  
  
"I just want to take you and the kids and fly away where  
they'll never find us," Clark confessed.  
  
"And do what? Spend the rest of our lives hiding from  
assassins? We will be here, waiting for you, Clark. And  
*when* you return, you and I can start working on getting  
the rest of that big family we decided on." Lois reached up  
and traced his lips with her finger.  
  
Clark kissed her finger gently. "You have such faith in  
me," he said quietly.  
  
"My faith and my love for you are all I have," she said  
raggedly, "I think they're what's keeping me standing here,  
because when I think of tomorrow without you, I start to  
shake."  
  
Clark took her into his arms and held her to him tightly.  
"Lois, I wish I could take you with me; if there were any  
way, I would."  
  
Lois took his face in her hands. "I know," she said  
softly. She moved out of his embrace and pulled a small  
box out of the dresser. She turned to face him, clutching  
the box in her hand. "My great-grandmother died when I was  
14," she began, "and she left me this with a note saying  
that I might need it someday. It was her mother's. My  
great-great grandfather took it with him when he fought in  
the Civil War, my great-grandfather had it during World War  
I, and my grandfather had it with him in World War II."  
Lois opened the box and pulled out an antique, silver,  
oval-shaped locket out of it. She opened it hand handed it  
to him.  
  
Five small braids of hair were twined together and coiled  
in one side under glass. A family portrait that had been  
taken the month before resided in the other side. "The  
hair belongs to all of us; Jonathan, Martha, Kiley, Joseph,  
and I each contributed some," Lois said quietly. She  
gently removed it from his hand and clasped the locket's  
chain around his neck. "I was hoping that you'd keep it  
for me."  
  
"I'll keep this as safe as I keep my love for you and for  
our family," Clark said as he dropped a kiss on her palm.  
"Lois, I have loved you from the beginning. I have loved  
you and will love you forever."  
  
Lois swallowed against the lump in her throat before  
replying. "And I will love you until the end... through all  
eternity." Lois tugged him over to the window. "Which  
star is yours?"  
  
"I'm not sure if you can see it...it's right *there*."  
Clark pointed out a bright star to the north.  
  
"I see it," she said quietly, "I'll watch it every night...  
Now I only have one problem," Lois said as she slid her  
hands underneath his shirt.  
  
"What's that?" Clark asked as he leaned down and captured  
her lips with his.  
  
After a few moments, Lois broke off the kiss and looked at  
him breathlessly. "I need to make tonight so  
unforgettable..." He raised his arms so she could finish  
the task of divesting him of his shirt. "...that the minute  
you defeat Nor," she slowly began to layer warm kisses on  
his neck and across the sleek muscles of his chest,  
"...you'll come flying back to me." She pulled his face  
close to hers and kissed him before she led him over to the  
bed.  
  
Clark threaded his hands through her beautiful, long brown  
hair and brought her face up to his for a soul-shattering  
kiss. "I love you, Lois" Clark said, kissing her  
passionately.  
  
"I love you too, Clark" Lois said softly. Their lovemaking  
that night was bittersweet as they each strove to commit to  
memory every touch, every kiss, every breathless sigh. It  
was many hours later that the two lay, spent, in one  
another's arms.  
  
Lois clung to him tightly, stroking his hair as he slept.  
Lying awake in the darkness, she prayed that he would be  
returned to her whole; his mind, body, and soul still in  
one piece. She had never been one for praying; her early  
experiences with religion hadn't been all that good. But  
she'd reached the point where she knew that her prayers and  
her love were the only things she could send with her  
beloved. Lois hoped that it would be enough to keep him  
safe.  
  
****  
  
Lois woke early the next morning. She slept very little  
the night before; after all, Clark's dreaded departure was  
imminent. She propped her head on her hand as she began to  
run a finger over Clark's face, as if committing his  
features to memory. She drew in a shaky breath, knowing  
that this would be the last time for months, at best, that  
she would wake with Clark beside her... where he belonged.  
She refused to contemplate the thought that death might  
await him on New Krypton; that would mean that last night  
would have been the last night she would ever... Lois shook  
her head, refusing to allow the intolerable thought to  
fully surface.  
  
He looked so innocent, so vulnerable in sleep; she wondered  
how long it would be before she would again behold the  
sight of *her* Clark asleep in their bed. How long would  
she be without his teasing, without his unflagging support,  
without his love? She knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that  
he loved their family; would do anything for them, but a  
small part of her was afraid that time with his own people  
would change him from the gentle, loving man she knew. Her  
fingers brushed his lips as his eyes began to flutter open.  
"Good morning, sweetheart," she said softly. Lois kissed  
him gently and moaned as he pulled her closer to him,  
deepening the kiss. A few moments later, the kiss ended  
and they drew apart, breathless.  
  
"What time is it, honey?" Clark asked softly.  
  
"We have time enough," Lois answered quietly, as she pulled  
him toward her for another kiss. "Make love to me, Clark,"  
she said, the sadness of his departure clouding her eyes.  
  
Clark reached for her and cupped her cheek in his large  
hand in an old, familiar caress. Slowly, he kissed her.  
Without words, he told her how much he, too, dreaded  
leaving and how much he would miss her presence. He took  
his time, savoring every caress. He knew that being  
separated from her would be akin to losing his right arm;  
the memory of the last time spent alone with her would have  
to carry him through many a long day and night to come. He  
swore to himself that whatever it took, he would come back  
to her; three years of being best friends and partners  
coupled with six years of marriage simply wasn't enough  
time. He took his wedding vows seriously; he had promised,  
above all else, that he would be there for her as her  
father had not. He didn't intend to break his sworn word  
now.  
  
Desperately, they clung to one another, savoring this last  
moment of togetherness before going into the backyard for  
their final goodbyes. Clark kissed her deeply and brought  
his hand to rest on her gravid belly. "I love you," he  
said quietly. He started when he felt a small, fluttering  
sensation against his palm. He looked at his wife with  
wonderment on his face. "Lois, did you feel that?"  
  
Lois placed her hand over his. "Our baby knows his  
father's touch," she said softly. "I love you; we love  
you." She reached out and grabbed him by the arm.  
"Promise me, Clark. Promise me that you won't take any  
foolish risks; you're not invulnerable there--you could  
*die*. Promise me that you'll come home."  
  
"Honey, this is me. I *always* come back. I swear that I  
will come back to you and our family." Clark grabbed her  
hand and dropped a kiss in her palm. Slowly, they pulled  
apart to rise and dress. Both drew comfort from the  
other's presence, but knew that it was short lived. A  
scant few hours later, Clark would be on a spaceship bound  
for New Krypton where Lois and their children could not  
follow. He drew on clothes quickly, picking his favorite  
old jeans and a worn flannel shirt to leave in. By mutual  
decision, the children would not be in the backyard when he  
left; their goodbyes would be in the living room.  
  
Clark kissed his Lois once more before heading into  
Joseph's room to get the toddler dressed. It was early  
yet, but the earlier they got up, the more time that he  
would have with his family before the final farewell. He  
carefully picked up the sleeping child and dressed him in  
clothes identical to his own. He settled Joseph on his  
shoulder, walked downstairs, and laid him on the couch.  
Clark pushed his baby's hair off his forehead, gently  
smoothing it back from his little face. He leaned over and  
dropped a kiss on the top of Joseph's head for what might  
be last time he could for months. His heart ached as he  
gazed at the sleeping form of his child, doing his best to  
memorize his little boy's face.  
  
Clark sighed heavily and straightened up. He walked slowly  
up the stairs and entered Kiley's room. He stood near the  
doorway to watch his daughter sleep. She lay tangled in  
the sheets, curled around the bear he had won for Lois so  
long ago. Her long brown curls lay fanned out against the  
pillow while her long eyelashes kissed her cheeks. His  
firstborn. Clark crossed the room and carefully untangled  
her from the sheets. He gently pulled off her pajamas and  
dressed the sleeping child in her favorite dress before he  
picked her up and carried her downstairs. He picked Joseph  
up with his other arm and walked over to the double rocking  
chair they had placed in the living room after Kiley's  
birth. He sat down and held them close to him as he slowly  
rocked back and forth. To leave was unthinkable; but it  
would be infinitely worse for his family to perish at the  
hands of assassins because of his carelessness.  
  
Clark ruthlessly shoved back the tears that threatened to  
overwhelm him. He clasped his babies to him and kissed  
them on the tops of their heads fiercely. If he could help  
it, no one would hurt them. It was in his power to stop  
the assassins from being sent after his family. Despite  
the fact he knew that his departure had become necessary,  
his heart ached at the thought of abandoning his family.  
He closed his eyes and concentrated on remembering how his  
kids felt in his arms. They would be forever changed when  
he returned, children grew so fast at their ages...  
  
Not for the first time, he bitterly cursed the parents who  
had birthed him. How could they have saved his life only  
to put his family through such hell? Just because they  
hadn't lived long enough to watch him grow up and to meet  
their grandchildren was no reason to ensure that his own  
family would be split up by circumstances beyond their  
control.  
  
Mentally, he shook himself out of his self-enforced funk.  
He couldn't afford to wallow; he had to do what they needed  
him to do so that he could come home. The goal of  
returning home was the only thing that truly mattered. He  
laid his cheek on the top of his daughter's head and began  
to pray for his family's safety in his absence. His  
parents had taught him to pray as a boy. He had long since  
fallen out of the habit, but sometimes faith and love were  
all a man had to sustain him.  
  
He smiled painfully as he heard Lois's familiar footstep on  
the stair. He listened to her heartbeat as she crossed the  
room and sat beside him in the chair. She slipped her arms  
around him and so they sat, the four of them cuddled  
together. Jonathan and Martha came downstairs a few  
minutes later to find them in that position. They pulled  
up chairs and sat as close to their son, daughter-in-law,  
and grandchildren as they could.  
  
Martha felt the need for a physical connection to her son,  
so she quietly laid her hand on his arm. She cared not  
where he originally came from, he was her son and she hurt  
with him over this imposed separation. Her baby sat  
holding his babies and his wife; he was obviously in pain  
and she wished she could make it go away. Sad experience  
had taught her, however, that as much as she wished to  
spare her only child pain, it could not be so.  
  
She had always been grateful to Jor-El and Lara for gifting  
her with her son, but now she felt only anger toward them.  
She almost wished they were still alive so that she could  
give them a piece of her mind. Martha hated feeling  
helpless, and there was nothing she could do to ease her  
family's pain. Her mouth twisted in a wry smile as she  
remembered a simpler time when every problem would  
disappear with a slice of warm pie and a glass of  
buttermilk. Her free hand found Jonathan's as she  
instinctively reached for the comfort and support that had  
been her constant for almost forty-one years.  
  
Jonathan laced his fingers through his wife's as he leaned  
forward to push a lock of curly hair out of his  
granddaughter's face. He wanted nothing more than to fix  
this whole mess so that his boy could stay home. Jonathan  
reached out again and put his free arm around his daughter-  
in-law. He, too felt a sense of helplessness, but knew the  
only thing he could do was to offer his support now and in  
the aftermath. He vowed to himself to do what he could to  
see to the well being of his family. Lois would need them;  
being a single mother was hard enough with a regular nine  
to five job... with their third child on its way, and her  
demanding career, he knew their help would be needed.  
  
He started as the doorbell rang. He carefully extricated  
himself from his loved ones and made his way to the door to  
answer it. He opened the door to find Perry and Jimmy  
standing on the doorstep.  
  
Perry spoke first, "We wanted a chance to say goodbye," he  
said softly. "If this weren't so serious, I might try to  
equate this with Elvis having to go and join the army,  
but..." Perry shook his head. As much as he loved telling  
Elvis stories, he simply couldn't bring himself use yet  
another metaphor when his almost-son had to leave for what  
might become a war.  
  
"I thought you guys could use somebody to keep and eye on  
Kiley and Joseph while Clark leaves," Jimmy said quietly.  
The two men entered the house and walked over to where Lois  
and Clark sat.  
  
Just as they arrived, Kiley woke and rubbed a sleepy hand  
across her eyes. "Daddy?" she questioned sleepily.  
  
"I'm here, punkin'," Clark said as he pressed a kiss to her  
cheek.  
  
Kiley threw her arms around his neck and hugged him  
tightly. "I love you, Daddy," she whispered. Her little  
voice caught in a muffled sob, "I'll miss you."  
  
Clark patted her back soothingly. "Shh, punkin', it's  
okay. I'll be back before you know it. Sweetheart,  
whenever you miss me, just close your eyes and think about  
me real hard; I'll do the same." He gently gathered his  
daughter in the crook of his arm and regarded her  
seriously. "Punkin', I'll be missing you all the time,  
because you're my little girl and I love you. Now, you be  
my big girl and help Mommy while I'm gone, okay?"  
  
Kiley nodded seriously. "Daddy, promise that you'll come  
home?" she said with a tremor in her voice.  
  
"I promise, punkin'," Clark answered. He hugged her  
tightly and desperately wished that he didn't have to go.  
  
Kiley kissed his cheek solemnly and gave him a hug. "I  
love you," she said softly. She hugged him one final time  
before she extricated herself and moved to Lois's lap. She  
wrapped her little arms around her mother and held her  
tight, sensing somehow that Lois needed a hug.  
  
Joseph opened a sleepy, chocolate brown eye and smiled.  
"Daddy!" he said joyfully. The little boy looked puzzled  
for a moment. "Daddy go bye-bye?" he asked hesitantly.  
"Daddy come back to Jo'eph?"  
  
"Yeah, scout. Daddy has to go on a trip for a little while  
and then I'm coming home." Clark smiled stiffly,  
desperately trying to hold back the flood of tears that  
threatened to come.  
  
Joseph threw his arms around Clark's neck. "I love you,  
Daddy." Joseph kissed him on the cheek wetly. "Daddy blow  
on Jo'eph's tummy," the little boy demanded.  
  
Clark lifted Joseph's shirt and gently blew on his tummy.  
He smiled as his baby laughed in delight from the funny  
sound it produced. He hugged Joseph tightly and kissed him  
on the cheek. "I love you, scout," he said softly.  
  
Joseph looked around the room for a minute until he spotted  
Jimmy. "Up, Uncle Jimmy," he said with a sunny smile on  
his face as he held out his arms to be picked up.  
  
Jimmy stepped forward and picked up Joseph. "I'll miss ya,  
CK," he said quietly. "Be careful and come back to us in  
one piece, ok?" The younger man held out his hand to Clark  
who reached out and grabbed it as one might grab a  
lifeline.  
  
"I promise, Jimmy. Would you take care of Lois and the  
kids for me?" Clark looked pleadingly at his friend.  
  
"Sure, CK," Jimmy said around the lump in his throat. He  
turned to look at Kiley. "C'mon, kiddo," he began, "let's  
go get you some breakfast." He held out his hand to the  
little girl, who reluctantly climbed off Lois's lap and  
took his hand as he led her toward the kitchen. Kiley  
glanced back once with an expression on her face that would  
make a stone weep. "Goodbye, Daddy," she whispered, "I  
love you."  
  
Blindly, Clark fumbled for Lois's hand. She slipped her  
small hand into his large one, lacing her fingers through  
his. Together, the couple stood up and walked out into the  
backyard with everyone else following behind. Pain and  
sorrow settled over Lois and Clark like a blanket. They  
turned towards Clark's parents and he reached out his free  
hand to take his mother's. "You're the only parents I've  
ever known," he began softly. "The only parents I've ever  
wanted. Whatever good I bring to New Krypton will be  
because of you."  
  
Martha, unable to hold back the tears any longer, began to  
cry. She threw her arms around him and hugged him; hard.  
"I love you," she whispered through her tears.  
  
"I love you too, Momma," he said softly as he returned her  
embrace with his free arm. He had given up calling her  
'Momma' in junior high school, but at this moment, the name  
he had called his mother throughout his childhood slipped  
out. Reluctantly, he let her go and went to talk to Perry.  
  
Perry held his hand out to Clark, his eyes bright with  
unshed tears. "I'm proud of you, son," he said quietly.  
"I'll watch out for Lois and the kids for you; come back to  
us quickly." Clark took Perry's hand and simply nodded,  
unable to speak around the lump in his throat. Perry  
pulled him into an embrace, attempting to let this heart  
son of his know that the people who loved him best would be  
waiting for him when he returned.  
  
After the embrace broke, Clark turned to his father. "You  
take care of yourself, son," Jonathan said quietly. He  
stepped forward and gave him one last hug. "I love you," he  
murmured.  
  
"I will, Daddy. I love you, too." He choked out.  
  
Perry, Martha, and Jonathan stepped away, giving Lois and  
Clark some much-needed space. They had said their private  
goodbye the night before and early that morning, but this  
was their final chance to talk for months to come. Lois  
carefully pulled the locket out from under his shirt and  
looked at it once more before tucking it back where she had  
found it. "Be careful, Lois," Clark said quietly. "I  
couldn't bear it if something happened to you while I'm  
gone." His lips brushed across hers in a whisper of a  
kiss.  
  
"I will," Lois promised through a haze of tears. She freed  
her hand to wrap her arms around him. As his arms came up  
around her, she buried her face in his chest. "You come  
back to me, Clark. Don't you dare get yourself killed; if  
you do, I swear that I'll find a way to bring you back from  
the dead so that I can kill you myself."  
  
Clark kissed her, deeply, passionately, once more before  
Ching and Zara flew into the secluded backyard. He  
dropped to his knees and planted a kiss on her abdomen.  
"You be good for your Mommy," he said softly, "Don't give  
her any trouble. I love you, Baby Kent." He got up from  
the ground and pulled Lois back into his arms.  
  
"It's time," Lois said as a single tear ran down her face.  
"Go before I can't bear to let you. I love you,  
sweetheart." Ching and Zara beckoned to him as they flew  
straight up into the air.  
  
Reluctantly, Clark released her and stepped back. "I love  
you," he whispered as he slowly began to fly after the New  
Kryptonians. He stopped at the high fence for one last,  
lingering look back at his family before following them at  
superspeed.  
  
Lois fell to her knees and began to sob. "Why?" came the  
tortured whisper, "Why did they have to take him away?"  
  
Perry dropped to his knees beside her and pulled her into a  
tight embrace. "Shh. Honey, I don't know. But I do know  
Clark. That boy will move Heaven and Earth to make it back  
to you." A ghost of a smile passed over Perry's features  
as Jonathan joined them.  
  
Jonathan gently pushed her long hair away from her face and  
clasped her hand in his. "He'll be back, Lois; you two  
have always found a way--you always will." Jonathan stood,  
helped his daughter-in-law up, and led her inside.  
  
****  
  
Upon their arrival to the ship, Ching showed Kal-El to his  
quarters and handed him a set of practice clothes.  
"Milord," he began, "I'm sorry. I never wanted to do this  
to you and your family," he concluded quietly.  
  
Clark looked at Ching measuringly, somehow, he knew that  
not only was Ching telling the truth, but that he could be  
trusted. "I know," he said quietly, "But what I don't know  
is *why*. Why are you on my family's side? Zara certainly  
isn't."  
  
Ching grimaced. If he told Kal-El the truth, it would be  
perilously close to opening old wounds better left  
undisturbed. Lying, however, was unthinkable. Kal-El was  
his lord, and he owed him the absolute truth. "I was  
married for a brief time years ago," he began. "Her name  
was Hesa... We'd grown up together; she was my childhood  
sweetheart, and we married rather young. I joined the  
military to provide for the two of us... We hadn't been  
married for very long when she discovered that she was  
pregnant and they sent me off to be stationed at Seraulk.  
We had planned for her to join me in a few months...but she  
died." Ching looked at Clark with sadness in his eyes.  
"If I had been there... she wouldn't have gotten into the  
accident; she wouldn't have even been there."  
  
Clark reached out to clasp the other man's arm in sympathy,  
but Ching shrugged it off. "It was a long time ago... and  
that's not the only reason," he said quietly. "Anyway,  
before we leave the solar system, there are a few things  
you need to learn..."  
  
****  
  
Lois sat on the couch, staring numbly into space. One week  
ago, they had been happy. One week ago, they had been  
ignorant of the New Kryptonians' existence. She sighed  
heavily and brushed back yet more tears as they rolled down  
her cheeks. She wanted Clark back. She wanted to come  
home to find him waiting for her in their bed. She wanted  
to feel his arms surround her, holding her close. She  
wanted her husband back where he belonged; with her and  
their kids.  
  
She got up and began to pace back and forth restlessly.  
Lois wished that Perry hadn't insisted that she stay home  
for the day. He had said that she needed some time... he  
was wrong; she needed work... to be busy, to... forget.  
Who am I trying to kid? she thought, swallowing the large  
lump that had formed in her throat. Work held only more  
memories of Clark and herself. Jimmy had whisked the kids  
off to the park for a few hours... maybe she should go and  
find them. Suddenly, she knew it was exactly what she  
needed; to hold their little ones in her arms... to once  
again feel a physical connection with her Clark, her  
soulmate. Lois grabbed her coat and purse and hurried  
toward the door. She needed their kids; more importantly,  
she knew that they needed her.  
  
****  
  
Kiley clutched Jimmy's hand tightly. He'd asked her if she  
wanted to go play, but playing was the last thing on her  
mind. As she watched Joseph play in the sandbox, she  
wondered how he could be so carefree. Daddy was gone. He  
had left to protect them, but she wanted him to be at home.  
Daddies weren't supposed to have to go away. She scrubbed  
the back of her hand across her eyes, trying to erase her  
tears.  
  
"Uncle Jimmy?" She asked quietly.  
  
"What is it, punkin'?" Jimmy asked absently. He couldn't  
believe that Clark had been forced to leave; it simply  
wasn't fair. How could anyone be so callous as to make a  
good man like Clark Kent abandon what was most important to  
him? The Kents deserved better; they deserved to stay  
together. Lois and Clark had been through so much  
already... surely they should be allowed to raise their  
children together! He shook himself out of his reverie,  
leaned down, and scooped Kiley up.  
  
"Is Daddy going to come home?" she asked tremulously.  
  
Jimmy hugged her tightly. "Of course he is sweetheart!" he  
exclaimed. "He loves you. Do you know how your mommy has  
a baby brother or a baby sister growing inside her tummy?"  
Kiley nodded seriously. "Well, when you were growing in  
her tummy, he told me that he had never been happier when  
your mommy told him that they were going to have you. When  
you were born, I've never seen anybody happier than your  
daddy was."  
  
Jimmy embraced her again before he walked over to a nearby  
bench, sat down, and deposited her in his lap. He held her  
gently, suddenly angry at the New Kryptonians for making it  
impossible for Clark to stay at home. Kiley didn't deserve  
to experience this kind of sadness. She was only four and  
a half years old dammit! He knew that pain was a part of  
life, but at her age, she should be well insulated from it.  
He took a deep breath, pushing the anger away to be dealt  
with later.  
  
Kiley cuddled close to her 'uncle', reassured that her  
father would come home. She remembered what her dad had  
told her to do when she missed him, so she closed her eyes  
and thought of him-hard. In her head, an image began to  
form, she saw a strange room in which a straight line was  
nowhere to be found. Puzzled, she opened her eyes to find  
herself back on Jimmy's lap in the park. She smiled in  
sudden joy as she saw a familiar figure approach them.  
"Mommy!" she called as she propelled herself off of Jimmy's  
lap and wrapped herself around Lois's legs.  
Lois smiled at her daughter's enthusiastic greeting. She  
had been right; her children needed her as much as she  
needed them. "Thank you for watching them this morning,  
Jimmy," she said quietly.  
  
"No problem, Lois. I'm happy to do anything I can do to  
help while CK is gone. Call me if you need help ok?"  
Jimmy stood up and began to stroll away. He knew that Lois  
had the kids well in hand; he had seen the expression on  
her face at Kiley's greeting and knew that the best thing  
for the kids was to be with their mother. He turned around  
and smiled wistfully as he watched Lois walk over to the  
sandbox with Kiley in tow and collect Joseph.  
  
He fingered the ring in his pocket and wondered if Lucy  
would accept his proposal. After all, she was Dr. Lucy  
Lane while he was still a photographer. Granted, he had  
achieved some success in his chosen field in the past few  
years, but would she want to spend the rest of her life  
with him? Seeing Clark's departure had made him aware how  
short and fleeting happiness could be; he resolved to ask  
Lucy to marry him that very night.  
  
Lois walked over to the sandbox and watched her son play in  
the sand. "It's time to go home, Joseph," she said  
quietly.  
  
Joseph looked up at her with a sunny smile and pushed  
himself up. "Okay, Mommy," he said, sporting one of  
Clark's wide grins. Lois leaned over and picked him up,  
her heart contracting at the sight of that particular smile  
on her son's face. She hugged him close to her with one  
arm and took Kiley's hand with the other. "Let's go home,  
kids," she said softly, fighting back tears. She walked  
over to the car, strapped them in, and drove home. It  
would be dark soon... bedtime for the children. She  
shivered as the realization hit her that Clark would not be  
at home waiting for them. Clark would not be there to hold  
her that night or for many nights to come.  
  
****  
  
Clark sat in a featureless white room and attempted to  
concentrate on Ching's instructions.  
  
"Kal-El, clear your mind. The control you learned on Earth  
is purely instinctual. It will not be enough on New  
Krypton. Block out everything coming in from the outside.  
This room is shielded; the only people in existence right  
now are you and I. You must bring your abilities under  
conscious control lest Nor will try and overpower your  
half-trained mind." Ching half-closed his eyes and invoked  
his gifts to see Kal-El's attempt. "Relax, Clark. You can  
do this. In order to build a wall around your mind to keep  
others out, you must first have a solid base from which to  
build. Clear your mind of all outside thoughts. Look  
inside yourself and find your center--the still spot that  
is who you are."  
  
Clark wearily took a deep breath and turned inward. They  
had been at this for hours and he had yet to 'center' as  
Ching wanted him to. He closed his eyes and began once  
more to look for his center. Deep inside himself he found  
the quiet of the farm he grew up on, a treehouse called the  
Fortress of Solitude, and an image of his soulmate and  
their children.  
  
Ching watched as Kal-El finally located his center. With  
the sound of a dislocated joint being popped into place,  
Kal-El's gifts turned inward and fused into one. "Very  
good," he said approvingly, "Now, there is a floor below  
you. Anchor yourself into it; create a hook with your mind  
and clip it into the rock. This gives you a solid base to  
build your shields on," he finished matter-of-factly. He  
had not expected to be giving his Lord the basics of  
controlling his abilities, but in hindsight, he thought he  
should have.  
  
Zara was unsuited for such a task; patience did not come  
easily for her. As a ruler, she was used to having her  
orders obeyed instantly. It was a good thing that she had  
been so carefully trained, he reflected soberly as he  
continued to watch Kal-El. She always put her people  
first... otherwise she was inclined to be a bit selfish and  
stubborn... but when it came to being First Lady, she was  
brilliant.  
  
Because of the secrecy that cloaked this mission, only the  
two of them had been sent. The people were secure in the  
knowledge that their Lady was off visiting relatives until  
they returned with their First Lord. He was the obvious  
choice to teach Kal-El the necessary skills to survive in  
their society. Today it was necessary to teach him to  
control his mind gifts. Tomorrow it would be necessary to  
begin to teach him to defend himself. As First Lord, a  
corps of bodyguards would surround Kal-El, but anything  
could happen. Ching felt that his promise to Kal-El's wife  
necessitated more extensive defensive training than was  
usually given to men in Kal-El's position; he was  
determined to keep his word.  
  
Clark took another deep breath and mentally thrust a hook  
into the ground, anchoring himself there.  
  
Ching smiled. "Very good!" he began, "Now, imagine a wall  
around your mind. It can be as thin as a piece of sheer  
cloth or as strong and fast as a stone wall."  
  
Brick by brick, Clark built up an imaginary wall around his  
mind. He finished quickly and looked at Ching expectantly.  
  
You have it! Can you hear me? Ching sent.  
  
Wordlessly, Clark nodded.  
  
Now, try and send your thoughts back to me. You did it  
once without thinking to Zara.  
  
Clark took a deep breath and pushed his thought to Ching.  
Like this? he asked tentatively.  
  
Well done! You are a quick learner Kal-El! Ching smiled  
teasingly. If this is what life on Earth has done for you,  
perhaps we should send more children there! He grinned  
broadly and explained how to keep his new shields in place  
without thinking about them. "You can now have speech with  
anyone without making audible speech; there is some psychic  
residue left behind, but I will teach you how to mask  
that." Ching looked at him thoughtfully.  
  
He was more than strong enough to use this particular  
trick... it just might take some convincing. "You can have  
speech with those who do not share our gifts... if you are  
emotionally close to them and have a focus; it is possible.  
Kal-El, that's enough for today; come, let's get you  
cleaned up and get you some food. Now that we're moving  
farther away from the yellow sun, you will get hungry  
sooner than you would on Earth."  
  
Ching reached out and helped Clark up before turning toward  
the door. He hoped that he might be able to do as the Lady  
Lois wished and become Kal-El's friend, but he knew if Kal-  
El was to learn some necessary skills, he must maintain a  
distance while he taught his Lord.  
  
Wearily, Clark followed him toward the door. He wanted his  
life back. He believed that what Ching now taught him was  
necessary, but it felt alien, unnatural. He wanted to be  
home... with Lois.  
  
****  
  
Lois huddled in the corner of the couch, tears coursing  
down her face. The children had been asleep for hours and  
Martha and Jonathan were set to go back to Smallville the  
next morning. They had offered to stay, but the farm still  
needed looking after and as much as she loved them, Lois  
wanted to be alone with her memories. Everywhere she  
looked, memories of Clark followed her. Presents he had  
given her over the years, furniture and decorations they  
had picked out, his scent on the bedclothes; these things  
taunted her. Rebelliously, she had taken one of his  
bathrobes out of the closet and put it on, taking comfort  
from his smell on it. She cuddled into the warm flannel of  
the bathrobe; it almost felt as if his arms were around  
her.  
  
A few minutes later, she got up and began to pace  
restively; occasionally stopping to pick up an object that  
held some special memory. Lois stopped in front of the  
bookcase and restlessly picked up a book of poetry that he  
had jokingly given her a few years ago. She began to flip  
through it, but it wasn't long before she had to put it  
down. Anne Bradstreet's love poems had always seemed to  
express her feelings for Clark, but one of them now seemed  
particularly apt.  
  
Her breath caught in a sob as she dropped the book as if it  
were a hot coal and stumbled blindly over to the couch. She  
collapsed into its soft embrace, clutching Clark's robe  
close to her body. She knew that the decision they made  
had been the best one; the only one under the  
circumstances, but why did it have to be so hard?  
  
****  
  
Clark followed Ching to his room. He hadn't yet managed to  
learn his way around the ship, so it was necessary to have  
Ching as a guide. Ching opened the door and scouted around  
before he let Clark enter. It was unlikely that Nor would  
have planted an assassin on board their ship, but it never  
hurt to be careful. Ching rummaged in the closet and  
pulled out some appropriate clothes for Kal-El to wear and  
laid them out on the bed. He purposely avoided the  
ceremonial robes that Zara had carefully hung there. After  
seeing Kal-El's world, he knew what his lord would most  
likely think of them.  
  
"I'll be outside to show you the way to the common area,"  
Ching said quietly on his way to the door.  
  
Clark picked up the clothing and grimaced. It was much  
more ornate than he liked; he'd rather be wearing *normal*  
clothes; not black tunics and slacks completely covered in  
embroidered renditions of the El shield. While most of the  
symbols were sewn in matching black thread, one of them had  
been sewn in silver over the chest of the tunic. He placed  
the clothes back on the bed and hurried to the sonic shower  
in the corner. After a three second shower, Clark stepped  
out and dressed, wishing for hot water. With a purely  
internal sigh, he walked out into the corridor and followed  
Ching to the common area.  
  
He pushed past the tapestries and a fierce blush stole over  
his face as he met Zara's approving glance. The clothing  
they had provided for him fit a bit more closely than he  
would have liked, and Zara's almost... proprietary air  
towards him was bothersome. He walked over to the table  
and sat down, pulling the locket out from under the collar  
of his tunic. He turned it over in his hand and began to  
apply the lesson he had learned from Ching a few hours  
earlier...  
  
****  
  
Lois curled herself in a tighter ball in the corner of the  
couch. She pulled one of Clark's handkerchiefs from the  
pocket of his robe and wiped her eyes again. She had been  
crying for what seemed like hours and she knew she needed  
to pull herself together. She rubbed her red-rimmed eyes  
once more and took a deep breath. Her eyes fluttered shut  
as she imagined Clark in front of her. Lois's head snapped  
up as she heard a faint voice in her head. If she didn't  
know better, she would have sworn it was... Clark.  
  
"Lois," she heard again, "Lois." Lois stood up and walked  
over to the window. A bright light shot across the sky and  
disappeared quickly. "I love you," the voice said, "Kiss  
Kiley and Joseph for me..." Clark's voice trailed off as  
her eyes again filled with tears. She stood for a moment,  
staring up at the stars before dashing the tears out of her  
eyes. She wasn't sure how he had managed to speak to her,  
but for right now, it didn't really matter... except... her  
mind jumped into overdrive as she considered the  
possibilities in HG Well's assertion that they were  
soulmates.  
  
While it was true that she always knew when he was upset or  
in danger and vice versa, it had never occurred to her that  
there could be anything more to it. There was a way to  
find out; surely if something like this was possible, Jor-  
El and Lara had left him a message? Lois resolutely walked  
over to the basement door and descended the stairs. She  
hurried over to the panel, hit the catch that swung it open  
and entered the room where Clark's ship was stored. She  
examined it carefully and remembered what had happened the  
week before when Clark's and Zara's hands had come into  
contact with the depressions on the front.  
  
Feeling foolish, she laid her hand in the depression where  
Zara's hand had been; Clark was *her* husband after all...  
Upon her touch, an image of a slender, auburn-haired woman  
emitted itself from the nose of the space ship. Startled,  
Lois almost jumped back, but she knew if she removed her  
hand, the image would disappear.  
  
"My daughter," the image began, "you must wonder how this  
image has activated. I am Lara, wife of Jor-El and mother  
of Kal-El. I recorded this message and a few more on the  
globe in hope that my son would find you. It was  
programmed to recognize my son's Kreh'kle'vshta... in your  
language that would be 'soulmate'."  
  
"The Kreh'kle'vshta bond is the most precious, most rare,  
most sacred thing on our world. You, my daughter, are the  
other half of my son; without each other neither of you are  
whole. The two of you are bonded -- soul, mind, and  
hopefully--heart."  
  
"You may have noticed that you can communicate without  
words. This ability may be expanded; I have left other  
messages upon the globe explaining how. My beloved  
daughter, I wish that we might have been able to meet, but  
even now, time grows short. Krypton could explode at any  
time. I give my son into your keeping. No matter what  
happens, you cannot be truly separated... you are  
Kreh'kle'vshta."  
  
The image faded from view and Lois carefully removed her  
hand from the tiny vessel. Thoughtfully, she exited the  
room and closed the panel that hid it from view. Clark's  
communication and Lara's message were like a balm for her  
soul, yet weariness settled over her like a blanket.  
Crawling into their bed upstairs suddenly held great  
appeal. Before Clark left, he had wisely placed the globe  
in their safety deposit box at the bank. The bank had been  
closed for hours, so she could not retrieve it until the  
next morning, Lois decided to follow the insistent urgings  
of her body and went to bed. Comforted, she hugged Clark's  
pillow to her chest and drifted off to sleep.  
  
****  
  
TBC in Forever and All Eternity II: Kismet 


End file.
